Frozen Fiction - A New Life
by ShdwFire
Summary: After losing his family, Jakob has decided to live his life alone with his one and only friend, Luna, his pet wolf. But when he saves the lives of two women and a snowman, his life slowly, but surely begins to change and affect those around him. The only question is: for better or worse?
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place several months after the events of Frozen. Enjoy!  
**

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Twelve years.

That's how long it's been since my life changed forever and no matter how many more days go by it still feels like it was just yesterday when it happened. My father, my mother, my two brothers, and my baby sister were all dead...because of me. When the people of my town found out, I was deemed dangerous and cast out of my own town. Left to fend for myself. I was only ten years old.

The nightmares started soon after. They'd haunt me day after day, year after year constantly reminding me of what I had done. Now, the nightmares had died down some allowing me a peaceful night. But occasionally they would come back and I would be haunted by their deaths once again. My name is Jakob and this is my story.

* * *

"NOOO!" I yelled as I suddenly rose up, awaking from my sleep. Tears were streaming down my face and I found myself gasping for breath. I hated when they came back. I could go days and sometimes weeks without the nightmare coming to haunt me and would sometimes think that it was finally gone. Today was one of those days where it would prove me wrong.

It was a constant reminder of the monster I was and the horrible things I did. Things I would give anything and everything to change. My attention soon turned to a small whimper relatively close and I noticed Luna standing near me, watching with worrying eyes. She could always tell when I was having one and would come close to give me comfort. Even though she was just a wolf, she was my closest friend. Granted she was my only friend, but she was the only living being not afraid of me.

"Don't worry," I said. "I'm okay; it was just the nightmare again."

Another whimper escaped her and she laid her head onto my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close thankful that I had her in my life. We stayed like that for the next few minutes, but unfortunately I knew it couldn't last. We had to move again.

This cave we were in was only a temporary shelter as the snow storm last night was too much to handle. Now that the storm was over, it was time to leave. Plus there was the fact that my stomach felt like it was tired of waiting to be fed and was therefore eating itself. Obviously it was time to find some food.

"Come on girl. It's time to go." Luna rose up allowing me to stand. Sleeping on the bare ground was definitely not the most comfortable place to sleep, but it had to do. It certainly was doing a number on my back, but just like all the other times I would ignore it and push the pain to the back of my mind...even though it definitely didn't work enough sometimes.

Grabbing my pack and my gear, I stood at the entrance of the cave staring at the results of last night's storm. Freshly laid snow blanketed the trees and the ground making everything look overly white. I knew finding food was going to be troublesome, but fortunately for me I had a wolf to help with that.

"You hungry, girl?"

Wagging her tail, Luna looked up at me and replied with a small bark.

"That's what I thought. Me too. Let's go find something to eat, shall we?" Luna and I left the cave and headed back out into the cold, harsh environment once again.

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**This is my first time making a piece of fiction for other people to read. So, hope you like it. And if you don't mind, please leave reviews while going through this journey. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Hours had passed and we had not found anything at all. Apparently having Luna's heightened sense of smell and hearing meant nothing when there was nothing around to be found in the first place. Plus all this extra snow covered any potential tracks that may have been left. In other words, this was going to be tougher than I thought. A small whine escaped from Luna as she sniffed at the air. She was probably beginning to lose hope at this point. Considering I had already lost it an hour ago, she was doing better than I was.

"What was I thinking?" I say breaking the dead silence. "Coming up this mountain just to shave a week or two off our trip was a horrible idea."

Luna replied back with a bark I didn't expect.

"Luna, please. This is not the time for an 'I told you so'."

Another bark and a groan filled my ears and I couldn't believe what she was saying.

"Come on now, Luna. Don't be like that. How was I supposed to know about the lack of food up here? I mean yeah I guess I could've listened when you told me how bad of an idea it was, but did you really want to spend an extra week going around the mountain?"

Luna replied with a grunt and well, I couldn't argue with that. "Well, next time I'll just let you make the decision then, miss know-it-all."

I glanced down at her and noticed her giving me that 'look' she always gives me whenever I finally realized she was the one who was right and I was the one who was wrong. Happened way too often in my opinion.

"You are so bitter when you're hungry, you know that righ..."

Luna stopped dead in her tracks. Her ears twisting trying to focus, her nose sniffing the air. "What is it, girl?" I asked, now on full alert. Her sudden reactions always meant one of two things: Food or danger and most times it was usually the latter which was why I was now scanning my surroundings searching for anything and everything. If I could see it or hear it in time maybe I could be prepared for whatever it was. A slight movement in the corner of my eye catches my full attention and only one thought crosses my mind once I've laid eyes on the small animal ahead – food. Before I can process another thought, Luna raced after the little rabbit desperate to end her hunger.

"Wait for me!" I shout running after her. The chase was on. The rabbit was quick, but Luna was hot on its tail. We were so close. My mouth was watering at the thought of our soon-to-be meal. I could already taste it. There was no way we could lose out on this. Of course that would've been true, if it hadn't found safety in some stupid tunnel in the ground. Luna dug at the entrance of the hole not willing to give up, but soon realized the rabbit was long gone. We had missed our chance.

Exhausted, I collapsed to the ground trying to catch my breath. Luna began to whimper as she strolled back to me with a sad, disappointed look on her face. As she lay down next to me, I couldn't help but feel bad. This shortcut was proving to be more trouble than it was worth and if anything was taking longer than I had planned. I expected to be across the mountain in maybe 6 days. So far, we've been up here for 13 days. Yep, you heard right. To make matters worse, the last of our food had ran out on the fifth day. You can see now why we were so miserable. Note to self: do better planning. Our hunger was all my fault. It hurt to finally realize it, but it hurt more to know Luna was suffering because of it. She didn't deserve this. I glanced down at her and ran my gloved hand through her dark grey fur.

"I'm sorry, girl. We'll just find something else to eat instead. And…I promise to listen next time when you say one of my ideas is bad, okay?"

Luna let out a low groan leaving me shocked. "I'm going to let that slide for now since we're currently in a situation. You're lucky you're special to me."

She rested her head on my leg and I smiled. She may have been mad at me, but it wouldn't last long. "I love you too, girl."

Hundreds of thoughts raced through my head trying to figure out a way to get us out of this mess when Luna's head suddenly jerked up halting my train of thought. Her ears twisted in different directions trying to focus. "What is it? What do you hear?" A moment of silence filled the air and before long I realized I could hear something myself. I sat there still and quiet, listening. It was a voice. No wait. More than one voice. For some reason, it left me a little puzzled. Since trekking through this mountain I had always assumed I was the only person crazy enough to be up here. I mean why would anyone else be up here on this apparently deserted, snowy wasteland of a mountain? Curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to check it out. Staying low to the ground, I slowly made my way towards the sound with Luna trailing behind until I could make out some words.

"Oops. Can't forget the most important part! There we go. So, what do you think of your new little brother, Olaf?" a female voice called out.

"He's amazing! You know, I've always wanted a little brother. My big one can be a pain sometimes," replied the other voice, which I assumed was Olaf.

I finally reached them and peeked behind some bushes. What I found was quite interesting. There were at least ten to fifteen small snowmen scattered around an open area and a young woman wearing a brown winter dress with auburn hair and pigtails hanging past her shoulders sitting next to two of them. To say the least, I was baffled. This woman came all the way up the mountain just to build a snowman? And where was this Olaf I heard? He was nowhere to be found. I stayed there just watching wondering what would happen next. Yeah, I'm nosy like that.

"You know what? We should show Elsa the new addition to your family," the auburn woman said to absolutely no one. It was quite clear that this girl—was crazy. Coming up here alone to build a family of snowmen and now talking to the wind. For all I knew she probably imitated the other voice I heard. I looked to Luna and she to me. "At least we're not THAT bad." Luna nodded and I smiled. I turned back when I heard the other voice again.

"Yeah. She'll love it. Hey, Elsa! Come and look at my new baby brother!" said Olaf, or was it the brunette? I couldn't tell. There was still no one else there, yet the woman's lips never moved. Ventriloquist, perhaps? If so, she was a darn good one.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," a female voice chimed in. A tall, slender woman with weirdly pale skin and platinum blonde hair twisted into a french braid had arrived. And my god was she breathtaking. She was wearing a bright blue, off the shoulder dress with a long transparent cape trailing behind her and some blue gloves to match the outfit. The sheer sight of her left me at a loss for words. There just weren't enough of them in the English language that could properly describe her.

"Oh my god. Luna, she's so...so beautiful," I whispered. I had never seen anyone more radiant than her, even though she was still weirdly pale.

"Olaf, he's adorable. And so handsome too," the blonde girl said.

One of the snowmen near the auburn woman glanced up at the woman of my dreams and wait, what? I rubbed my eyes a few times. Did I just hallucinate? I looked back over and confirmed that I did in fact see a snowman move and oh my god, it was talking. It was frickin' talking! How was this even possible? I looked at all the other snowmen in the area and suddenly felt surrounded. This was an awkward feeling that I could confidentially say I'd never felt before. It reminded of the time I had built a snowman when I was a kid. I had eventually knocked it down a few hours later. Oh god, was it alive too? Did I murder an innocent snowman? Too many thoughts were flooding my brain. I know what you're thinking and you're right. I need to get it together. I need to...

A soft growl emanated from Luna and I knew something was wrong. This usually happened after her sudden reaction I told you about earlier right before the danger came, but this time it was first. Something had snuck up on us and I felt unprepared. Luna kept growling. It was then I saw it. Two glowing eyes hiding in the darkness of the trees on the other side of the open area. They were watching the two women and the family of lively snowmen. Two more quickly appeared alongside it followed by two more and then another two and then another two until...oh snap. "Luna, let's go!"

Luna and I jumped out of our hiding spot and ran straight for them. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do. Didn't really have time to plan. All I knew was that I had to do something or else those wolves were going to kill them. I refused to let that happen. The pack of wolves jumped out of hiding as well and was running full speed towards them growling ferociously.

"Watch out!" I yelled. The girls and the snowman looked at me and saw me pointing in the other direction. They turned their heads and saw the wolves coming at them. Panic filled their faces. Fortunately, Luna and I reached them first and stood in front of them as a protective shield. If those wolves wanted them, they'd have to get through us first and, well, I had no intentions of dying today. I'm pretty sure Luna felt the same. How about that for confidence, huh? I guess it could be stupidity also. Let's just say it's the first one.

The wolves stopped just thirty feet away. Apparently they didn't expect a man and his wolf friend to intervene. "Just stay behind us," I tell them. Luna stood growling, ready to attack. Although our chances looked slim, I was proud of her bravery, but I wasn't about to let her go up against this many. If there was only one or two, I'd let her fight with me, but not with a whole pack. I slowly stepped in front of her knowing that it would be me who'd have to deal with this situation. If they decided to run again, I would have to do something I hadn't done in a long time. It would probably come back to bite me some kind of way, but right now staying alive was all that mattered.

I could easily tell who the alpha wolf was. He paced back and forth in front of the pack. Taking my gloves off, I stared into his eyes hoping to get him to realize that backing off was the better idea. Nope. That didn't work. The alpha wolf let out a loud howl and they were running again. It looked like I was going to have to do this and fast. With them just ten feet away, I raised my hands and soon a huge stream of fire burst out towards them. The huge flames covered the ground in front of them instantly melting all the snow and ice between us. The pack skidded to a stop and ran off in fear. Apparently they had gotten the message. Only one remained. The wolf leader. He stared back at me with hatred in his eyes and then ran off after his pack.

The fire from my palms died down until they were no more. Relief washed over me as my quick thinking actually worked. I turned back to see Luna wagging her tail. A smile formed on my face right before I heard the ice crack. Next thing I knew the ice underneath me had broken and I was now submerged under the ice. Because my heroic feat apparently wasn't enough excitement for today, I now had to survive drowning. The shock of the icy water hit me like a ton of bricks. Any spare oxygen I had in my lungs was now little bubbles floating up to the surface. This was not good. I didn't intend to drown when I woke up today, but life was funny that way. I pounded on the ice searching for the opening I fell through as my lungs began screaming for oxygen. I'd have to remember next time to stay away from all kinds of frozen water in the next life. Finally I was able to get a clear enough thought processed in my mind.

I pressed my hands to the ice and unleashed the fire once again. It took only seconds to make a hole big enough. I broke through the surface of the water taking huge breaths before I could even come all the way up. Not exactly helping myself, but hey. I grabbed onto the ledge of the ice and felt myself being pulled up. It was the two girls. The auburn woman and the blonde woman. Imminent death had made me forget all about them. I was pulled completely up onto the ice coughing up water. As I slipped off into the land of unconsciousness, a single face looked down at me leaving me with one final, yet unexpected thought before everything went dark. _My god is she beautiful._


	3. Chapter 3

My eyes slowly opened, vision slowly becoming clearer. The nightmare did not come last night and boy was I thankful for that. Instead it was replaced with a very weird, very crazy dream. At least I think it was dream. I remembered two girls being there. So far, and oh so good. I remembered a snowman, or should I say snowmen, and I immediately hoped this wasn't going down some ultra-weird route especially when it started out good. Suddenly, wolves entered my mind and using my fire and being close to death. It was coming back to me and I knew now that it wasn't a dream.

It had all happened. I was suddenly very aware that I was not where I remembered being last. I quickly sat up and looked around this new room I was in now. It was a pretty big room with a huge fireplace and intricate patterns of snowflakes lined on the walls. A huge triangular window nearly covered half of one the walls and there were paintings of people hung everywhere. Everything looked so nice and organized and…expensive. I was beginning to focus less on how I got to this place I could never afford and more on getting the heck out of here.

A place like this meant people were nearby and I couldn't be around people. Not anymore. It was too risky. I slid my legs off the bed and noticed I was not in my old clothes anymore. Someone had took it upon themselves to dress me in completely new clothes. This did not sit well with me. Who changes a man's clothes while he's unconscious? Not wanting to think about the invasion of privacy anymore as it was way too creepy, I stood up and almost tripped over a huge, grey piece of mass on the floor that turned out to be Luna.

"Luna? There you are. Where are we? How did I get here? Actually never mind. We got to go."

Luna groggily stood up and I could tell she really didn't want to leave dreamland yet, but she didn't have a choice now. Until we left, nothing would be safe. I grabbed my pack off the nearby chair and headed for the window. It was time see if escape through that excessively large window was possible. Looking out, we were easily five or six floors up give or take a few. More like give though. We could totally do this. That's when the door opened and I froze.

A round guy with a receding hairline and a rather large nose entered the room. "Ah, sir. I see you're awake. And…I must tell you that if you are attempting to escape through that window, you'll find yourself very disappointed. It doesn't open."

Well, so much for that escape plan. At least my question was answered.

"Well then. That is disappointing," I said, stepping away from the window. "By the way, who are you again?"

"My name is Kai and I was instructed to watch over you until you had awaken."

"You weren't the one that, uh, changed my clothes, were you?"

"Fortunately no sir. I'm afraid the handmaidens were the unlucky ones tasked with getting you out of your wet clothes.

"Okaaay then." Wait, unlucky? What did he mean by that? Surely I wasn't that hard to look at.

"Look, um Kai, thanks for keeping me here while I was out, but I really need to leave now. I can't stay here much longer and trust me you wouldn't want me to. So, if you could just tell me how to leave this place I'd appreciate it."

"I'm afraid you cannot leave just yet."

"Why not?" I asked, beginning to get frustrated.

"The queen wishes to speak with you."

"I'm sorry. Did you say Queen?"

"Yes, Queen Elsa. I was instructed to inform you of her request as soon as you woke up. You cannot be allowed to leave until you have fulfilled that request."

The name Elsa sounded familiar and I remembered hearing that same name yesterday right before the wolf attack. Right before I revealed my power to them. Was the Elsa from yesterday the same one this Kai was talking about? It couldn't have been. But then what were the chances of hearing the same name twice? Did I really save the queen? I mean, surely it couldn't have been the same Elsa, could it? And why would the queen go up the mountain unprotected anyway? It was too many questions to think about when there were no immediate answers available. I only knew one thing. Whoever it was that was there now knew of my powers and that could not lead to anything good.

Kai opened the door a little wider. "Sir, if you are ready, the queen awaits."

I glanced down at Luna who was sitting at my side, surprisingly patient. I was starting to wonder how thick that window was, but ultimately decided against it. I didn't really want to meet this queen, but it looks like I had no choice. Maybe, if I was lucky, I could be gone faster if I just went ahead and got this over with as quickly as possible. I let out a huge sigh feeling defeated. "Come on, Luna. Looks like we got a queen to go meet."

We followed Kai out of the room and were soon on our way to visit the queen of… England? Wait, what country was I in again?


	4. Chapter 4

The long hallways were brightly illuminated with sunlight through the many windows that lined it and was decorated with a wallpaper that had the same snowflake patterns I had seen earlier. And the rooms we went through were massive. Between the statues and the paintings and the beautiful crystal chandeliers, this place was pretty impressive. Must've been nice to have the luxury of living your life and ruling your country within these walls. Luna and I were led down one final hallway before we finally reached our destination.

"The queen is just through that door," Kai said pointing at a huge double door. I nervously approached the door. Those darn butterflies were going rampant deep inside and there seemed to be no way of calming them down.

I balled up my fist and held it up to the door. I froze for a second. I wasn't entirely sure of what to say or do once this door opened. I turned to Luna, hoping she would give the answers. Of course, she had none. I turned to Kai, but he was no longer there. I guess he had something else important to tend to. I took a deep breath and willed myself to continue. "Well, here goes nothing."

I knocked on the door and for a second, I thought no one was in there as everything remained quiet. Deciding whether or not to knock again, the sweetest, softest voice finally spoke. "Come in."

Another deep breath and I opened the door. Let me just say the room I woke up in was pretty nice and spacious, but it was nothing compared to the room I was standing in now. Light filled the huge room from all angles creating a nice heavenly glow and a chandelier hung directly in the center of the ceiling. A single huge snowflake was painted over most of the floor and the room was also very cool compared to the rest of the castle which struck me as odd.

I stepped further in completely mesmerized by the place. That's when I saw her and boy did she look just as beautiful as I remembered, if not more so. She was standing there on the balcony looking at the world outside her castle and she was wearing that same crystalized dress that was now glimmering in the sunlight making her glow like an angel.

I finally built up the courage to speak. "Um, I was told you wanted to see me? Your highness?"

She turned around to face me and my heart stopped. Every single thought racing through my mind simply vanished without a trace. I wasn't even sure I was still breathing as seeing her face again was just too amazing. It was only when she spoke again did I snap out of my trance-like state.

"Actually, yes, I did. I didn't get a chance before and I just wanted to personally thank you for saving my life and most importantly my sisters life," she said as she stepped down the stairs from her balcony and back into the room. "What you did was very brave and I'm glad you were there."

By now she was standing just a few feet away, and the way I was feeling you'd think I'd never met a woman before. But even through that I knew this could only lead up to a subject that was most likely going to come up and I wasn't sure how to explain it when it did. I had not shown my powers to anyone other than Luna in the last ten years. I was too afraid to reveal them to people anymore. Maybe I could distract her and turn the attention off of me and onto her. It was worth a shot.

"Ma'am, uh I mean, your highness, if I may ask, what were you and your sister doing up there? And without any protection?"

"I guess that's a pretty good question that deserves an answer. Every now and then me and my sister, Anna go up the mountain to build snowmen. I know it sounds silly, but it's just something we do together now. We didn't really have the best childhood, so we're making up for it now. And for the protection, I can usually handle myself. I was just caught off guard that time. I didn't expect any wolves to be nearby on that part of the mountain."

"Well, now we both know," I grinned. "By the way, if you happen to go up there again just…promise me you'll be more careful. I most likely won't be there if it happens again. I know your sister has you there to protect her, but to be honest I'd really hate if anything were to happen to you."

Her gaze stayed on me for a second with no expression leaving me to wonder if maybe I had said the wrong thing? It probably was inappropriate. That's all I needed was to make a queen angry, but then-she smiled and it immediately sent a warm feeling through me.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"It's Jakob…with a K. Not a C like everyone keeps thinking. And It's just Jakob."

"Just Jakob?" she looked confused.

"I had a last name but some things happened and… Let's just say I don't deserve it anymore." The memories were rushing back and my expression changed dramatically. "I just go by my first name now."

It was obvious she was wondering what I meant. Fortunately, I'm assuming by reading my face, she seemed to be in understanding mode, because she didn't press on this particular subject any longer. "Ok, Jakob with a K," she said bringing my smile back. "Do you have a place to stay? I mean I don't know what you were doing up there on the mountain or if you live up there, but if you don't have any other place to go you're definitely more than welcome to stay in Arendelle. I'll personally make sure everything is taken care of for you."

"That's nice of you, Queen Elsa, but I can't stay."

"How come?" she asked looking surprisingly disappointed.

"I-I just can't. It's hard for me to explain."

"Well, could you stay just for today? Then tomorrow you could go. Please…for me?"

I stood there not knowing what to say. I couldn't believe she was actually asking me to stay for her. Everything in me was telling me to say no and possibly break her heart, but I just couldn't. I barely knew this woman yet she had some kind of strong hold on me I couldn't explain and it was terrifying. I wasn't use to feeling like this which meant she could be in danger if I stayed. But looking at her face again, I finally gave in.

"I guess I can go ahead and stay today. But I definitely have to leave first thing tomorrow morning." I said, cheering her up. My decision still left me feeling unsure. I hoped I wouldn't regret it. But then, it would only be for today. Surely I could handle staying here for one extra day, right?

Luna decided to speak up now. She was getting hungry and now that I thought about it, so was I. "If you don't mind Queen Elsa, Luna and I are getting kinda hungry. So we're just going to go get something to eat."

The queen glanced at Luna as if she had just noticed that the wolf was even in her presence. "Right. Ok. I'll just have them bring you some of our finest selections from the kitchen."

"No worries, your highness. I'd rather just get something myself. I can be a picky eater." I started off towards the door with Luna right behind me. Before I could grab the handle though, the queen said one final thing.

"Jakob?"

I turned to her.

"Just call me Elsa."

Our gaze remained on each other as we smiled for what seemed like forever. Then I stepped out her room. I could breathe again and yep my heart was beating again. A little fast but still beating. This was definitely not a good feeling or a decision. For now though, I just needed to eat and think it over. I stared at the different halls leading to several different directions and was really wishing Kai was here right now. "Come on, Luna. Let's go find this kitchen."


	5. Chapter 5

**Elsa POV**

* * *

I stood there trying to think, trying to figure out why Jakob was still on my mind even though he had been gone for the past hour or two. There was this weird feeling deep down inside I couldn't explain and had never felt before. I believe Anna once called the feeling butterflies? I didn't know what it was or if it was good or bad, but there was one thing I knew for sure. What I had seen him do yesterday was unbelievable, yet fully real. He had scared off those wolves with fire from his hands. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time. How had he done it? And where had he come from? He didn't look like he came from Arendelle. None of his clothes or belongings were from here. How had he known about the wolves before Anna or Olaf or even me? I was the one who was supposed to be watching after us all in the first place.

Sighing, I sauntered over to my bed and sat down on the soft cushion. I rose my hand up and created my signature snowflake. Ever since I was little I had always thought I was the only one in the world unfortunate enough to be cursed with powers. To be something more than normal. Now that Jakob has shown up, it was completely mind-blowing to learn that for all of those years I was wrong.

I could remember looking down at him. His eyes slowly closing as he began to fall into an unconscious state. He was looking back at me the whole time, never looking away and I had noticed a small grin form on his face right before his eyes finally closed and he blacked out. I didn't know what his last thought was right before it happened, but his smile left me feeling those butterflies Anna told me about before and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

I willed the snowflake away and stared into my mirror. I knew I had to talk to him again. I had to learn something about him and his abilities before he left. And most of all, I had to learn why these darn insects wouldn't just calm down already.

Unfortunately for me, I had completely forgotten that I had a meeting today with some new and very important trade partners. Canceling all business transactions with Weaseltow…wait. _Oh Kai, what have you started?_

It had dealt a pretty big blow canceling all ties with them, but after what the Duke attempted to do, it was necessary. It took months to find another suitable partner and for the good of Arendelle, I couldn't risk messing this up. I wouldn't have time to meet with Jakob again today and he had agreed to stay for today only. I sat there trying to figure out what to do. Surely I could figure something out in time.


	6. Chapter 6

The nightmare didn't come again last night. That was good. What wasn't good was the fact that there was now a fierce snowstorm happening right outside. Apparently, luck was not on my side today. It had been going on for the past few hours with no end in sight. You could hardly tell the sun was out with all the clouds and snow. It was rather strange though. Yesterday was nice and warm and there wasn't a cloud in sight. In fact, it was a complete sunny day over Arendelle then. A lot different from the weather now. Where did this come from?

Luna lie cuddled over by the fireplace. She was enjoying this luxury life and I had to admit it was better than sleeping on the ground in some cave. But still that was purely by choice. "UGH! Luna, what are we going to do?" I didn't plan for this!" I said motioning to the craziness outside the window.

She groaned a little not really wanting to move, but got up anyway and came to me. Sighing, I scratched behind her ears. That spot I learned she loved so much. "Should we go out anyway?" I asked her.

"You're a wolf; you should be used to it. I have the power of fire, so I can just make a fire to stay warm, right?" It sounded good coming out, but I didn't need time to think about how it would play out in reality. Just because I didn't want to be around people didn't mean I wanted to be dead and I knew if I went out in that storm there was a high chance of it happening or worse. Assuming there was something worse than death of course.

A knock on the door quickly caught our attention. My heart raced wondering if it was Elsa. Part of me was hoping it was and the other sane part not so much. I'd absolutely have to talk to Luna about this later. Maybe she would have some wisdom for me.

"Come in."

I couldn't believe my eyes as my door opened and that same snowman waddled in. "Hi, I'm Olaf! And I like warm hugs!" He said arms outstretched.

I did not hug the animated snowman as I was still unsure of what to think of a snowman asking for a warm hug in the first place. Luna didn't know what to make of it herself. She sniffed at the snowman and then gave him a small kiss on the face. Olaf apparently loved it and hugged her instead. Luna turned to me. I could only imagine how it felt.

"Um. So, yeah, you're alive. Are there any more of you alive?"

"Yes! I have big brother named Marshmallow. He lives all the way up on the north mountain. He's a little cranky sometimes though."

"Oookkay." I wasn't really serious when I asked the question, but I had just gotten a serious answer that I didn't anticipate. Nice to know there was another bigger snowman out there somewhere. And cranky? I'd have to remember that when I left Arendelle.

"What brings you here again?"

"The party, of course!" another voice said excitedly. I looked up from the mini man of snow to see Elsa's younger sister Anna come in. It was weird to think of them as sisters. Sure they did share a few features but some stuff was just peculiar. Elsa with her platinum blonde hair and pale skin and Anna with her red hair and fair skin color. Getting back on the subject, I ask "What party?"

"Since the blizzard is keeping us all in, no one could really go out and get any work done and since everyone was just moping around, Olaf thought it would be nice to cheer everyone up by having a party. Elsa has given everyone the day off and we're all ice skating down stairs in the ballroom!" Anna was practically bouncing off the walls as she spoke of the party. I could tell she was easily the life of any party she went to.

"We didn't want you to be all by yourself up here so I just thought I'd come up and invite you. So, you coming?"

I thought for a second, but decided against it. "No, I'll pass this time. I got a trip to plan. Plus, I'm not alone. I've got Luna."

"Come on, Jakob," cried Olaf. "You'll have so much fun…"

"…And there's food too," Anna finished. Luna jerked her head up and wagged her tail. She wasted no more time thinking. Her mind was made up. I watched as she strolled over to them by the door and gave a single bark in my direction. _Traitor._

"I don't want you to be by yourself up here, Jakob. Just come with us for now and if you don't like it, you can just come back up, but at least try it out," she pleaded.

I didn't know why but these people were getting harder and harder to say no to. I'd try to put my foot down on my negative decisions to them, and against all odds they'd somehow convince me to change my mind. "Okay, okay. I'll go. I'll check out your party."

"Yes! You'll love it I promise," Anna said feeling triumphant.

"Just give me a sec. I'll be right behind you."

"Okay," Olaf said cheerfully. Soon, they were gone. Their voices fading away as they headed down the hall. Luna stood at the door staring at me. "I hope you're happy with yourself. Jumping at the first sound of food. What happened to backing me up?"

Suddenly, whimpering filled the room and her ears drooped low and now I felt bad. I didn't mean to say those things. I was just a little disappointed. "I'm sorry, Luna. I'm just frustrated by everything that's been going on recently. I'm torn between what I know I should I do for the safety of the people and what I'm feeling." I take a look at the palms of my hands and remember the destruction they've caused. The look of fear in the eyes of those who were unfortunate enough to witness it. I would never forget it. I could still see and hear the terror all around me. I could feel the warmth as if I was still there. Was I still there? This was starting to feel too real.

A bark snaps me out of my trance. The memories did that sometimes. If I wasn't pulled out by some external force, there'd be no telling how long I would sit there trapped in the past. It's only happened a few times, but they still scared me every time I Luna brought me out. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if Luna wasn't there and I'd be stuck in my own head for who knew how long. Maybe this party wasn't a bad idea. I obviously needed something to get this off my mind.

I gave her a quick pat on the head. "This food better be good, Luna." I laughed. "Come on." I stood up and headed out the door with Luna happily running ahead. She could hardly wait.

* * *

So, as this was only my second day in the castle, I should've known the inevitable was going to happen. I…was lost. As soon as I stepped out of my room, I was lost. What was I thinking telling Anna and Olaf to go without me? Luna had realized I was moving too slow and was long gone. She was probably on her third helping of food by now. Hall after hall, room after room and I hadn't ran into a single person. This place was just too big.

I knew I should have just stayed in the room and just let Luna go to the party, but no. I just had to listen to my insane side. I passed by a window and stopped. The snow was getting thicker by the second and the blizzard was still in full force. Note to self: Head further south and stay there. Now all I needed was for this storm to stop long enough for me to get there so I could be one happy loner. A sound of voices reached my ears and I felt hope. Maybe I could finally get some directions around this place. I raced out the room trying to follow the voices, when I came up on what I guessed was the foyer.

A group of guards were entering the castle from the outside and were being welcomed in by some of the staff. I guess everyone was off today excluding the guards. Soon they began to disperse, each one going about their own separate ways. One in particular was wearing different colors and armor than the rest and was coming in my direction. At the bottom of the stairs, he noticed me at the top and stopped.

"Who are you? And state your business here," the man said, his hand reaching for his sword.

"Whoa, hold up there, buddy" I said holding my hands out. This guy definitely had trust issues and had probably already murdered me in his head. I wanted…no needed to make sure, he didn't choose to act it out. "My name is Jakob. I'm just here until the storm blows over. After that, I'm gone."

"I see. And does the queen know of this?" His hand tightened around the handle.

"Actually, yes, she does. She's the one who invited me to stay."

His reaction changed immediately and was confusing. What I said seemed to have affected him in some way. Like he was surprised or something. Judging by the expression he now had on his face, I felt as if he was really considering plunging his sword into me at that very second which for me meant that it was time to get the heck out of here. This guy clearly had some issues going on and I did not intend to stay to find out what they were.

"We shall see. If what you say is true then I will take your word on that you will leave tomorrow. If you are lying, you better hope I don't find you again for the rest of the night or ever." He stepped past me scowling making me feel uncomfortable. His hand was still on his sword too. I had just met this man and somehow I had succeeded in making him unbelievably pissed at me already. I think I broke a record.

I remembered my situation from before and decided to ask one last thing of him. "Uh, sir, if you don't mind. Could you, perhaps, point me in the direction of the ballroom?"

He hesitated and stared me down. If I had paid attention enough I could have probably seen fire and hatred in his eyes, but I wasn't. The man answered like it was the hardest thing he had to do in his life. "Just follow that hallway on your left all the way down and you'll reach it." And with that, he was gone.

So far, everyone I had met in the castle had been friendly. Everyone except that guy. He had wanted to kill me ever since he saw me standing there. I hoped I wouldn't see him again anytime soon. If I could just make it to this party, I'd get some rest afterwards and then head out tomorrow. Yeah. That sounded like a good plan. I headed down the hall he told me and I could hear the sounds of laughter and voices ahead. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

The party was in full swing. People were either standing around chatting or skating around on the ice that somehow covered the entire ballroom floor. That was a head-scratcher right there. Then there were the people who were stuffing their faces at the tables and sitting there right along with them was Luna. The traitor.

Some people weren't sure how to react with a wolf in such close proximity and seemed to just stay away while some had taken a liking to her. They would give her all sorts of stuff to eat. "Luna, you're lucky I love you," I whispered.

Anna was out there skating and enjoying herself with Olaf and Kristoff. Kristoff and I never really talked much. We had only run into each once the other day and even then had barely been in each other's presence longer than thirty seconds. But watching them together now, he seemed like a good guy and I could see why Anna loved being with him. Must've been nice to have someone. To be close to them and know there was no chance of you hurting them. They stopped to wave and I waved back giving them a smile as they continued on. Everyone was here. Everyone except…

A pair of hands covered my eyes. "Guess who?" the all too familiar voice said excitedly. I turned around to face her. Boy, I thought I was grinning before. Between her presence and my even bigger smile, we could've outshined the sun itself and left everyone blind.

"Queen Elsa!" She gave me a look and I knew better. "Sorry…Elsa. Just got to get used to it," I laughed.

"It's okay. Anyway, I'm glad you made it. Anna told me you decided to come, but I was starting to think otherwise."

"Yeah. I got a little sidetracked earlier, but I made it."

"Olaf thought we needed cheering up so I helped arrange this."

"It looks fun. Unfortunately I don't know how to skate." Apparently this made Elsa grin.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm a good teacher then. I did teach Anna." she says.

Before I could react, Elsa pushed me onto the ice. The nerve. Setting me up for failure for her own amusement. I slid around trying desperately not to fall. I must've looked like a fool out here. To make it worse, Olaf skated by and did a double twist right in front of me. "Just gliiiiide and pivot, Jakob! You can do it!"

That was easier said than done. The shame hit me pretty hard as Olaf twirled around flawlessly on the ice. Finally I fell to the ground and face palmed myself. Here I was getting shown up by a…a snowman for crying out loud! This was an all-new low for me.

"You were right. You don't know how to skate," giggled Elsa as she approached me.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." I stood up trying not to lose my balance again.

"I'm sure you had a good time watching me flail around."

"Actually I did. But don't worry cause like I said before. I'll teach you." She took my hands in hers and my heart skipped a beat. Her touch, although cold, was so nice and comforting. It felt both right and wrong at the same time. Did I give it a second thought? Did I care if it was wrong or not at this moment? The answer was simple and only needed one word: Nope.

"Just follow me. Watch what I do and copy it, okay?"

I don't think I could fully explain just how nervous I was with doing this but looking at her face gave me some confidence as she began to move across the ice. I couldn't think. What did she tell me to do again? Um, oh yeah. Follow and copy. Follow and copy. Okay, got it. I watched her movements and did the same. It took some getting used to and man did I struggle...a lot. Elsa laughed at every mistake I made, but she never let me fall nor did she take her hands from mine. Soon I was able to get my balance right and after that we were finally moving as one and I was actually having fun for a change. It was indescribable. If I could freeze time forever it would be right now while I was skating with her. This woman who just seemed to amaze me every time we met. I wasn't sure how she did it, but I didn't care. Not one bit.

A few hours later, the party was wrapping up for the day. Elsa and I broke away from the rest and were walking down the hall.

"I have to admit. I didn't expect to have as much fun as I did today. Actually, I didn't expect to have any at all."

"Why makes you say that?" Elsa said, a look of wonder on her face.

"I just haven't done anything like that for a while. A long while. It's just been me and Luna for some time."

"That reminds me. I've been wondering this ever since we met. How did you and Luna meet exactly? I mean, she's a wolf. People and wolves don't really get along like that. Not the way you two do."

"Trust me when we first met, it was just like you'd expect. I did a lot of running that day that's for sure."

She laughed. I would never get tired of hearing it.

"But when she was chasing me, she ended up getting into some trouble. Long story short, she would've died if I didn't save her. Don't ask why I would go and save an animal that clearly wanted to end my life, but something told me to go back for her. I just listened and here we are today."

"That's amazing. You're just a big softy aren't you? You probably couldn't hurt a fly," she joked. If only she knew.

We reached her door and I hated that this day had to end. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways," she said. She looked up at me. "Thanks for staying, Jakob. I know you wanted to leave earlier this morning, but I'm glad you stayed. I had fun today. It's a lot of work being queen so I don't really get to do this often myself."

"I'm glad I stayed too. But tomorrow I have to leave."

"Why?" she asked.

"I just have to. Luna and I… We can't stay here. Besides this storm seems to be calming down now so I figure it should be over with tomorrow. We need to be ready to take advantage of it. I'll just spend one more night here and then head out first thing."

"Okay," she said looking defeated.

There was a moment of silence before we said our goodbyes. She petted Luna goodbye and then with one last look at us, she entered her room and closed the door.

It didn't take long to find my way back to my room. Elsa had given me tips on how to find my way around. Just follow the different banners in the halls. If I could remember which banner went with which room, I wouldn't be getting lost again. I lay on my bed reminiscing of the events from earlier when there was a knock on my door. "Elsa?"

"No. It's not Elsa," said a voice. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it sounded vaguely familiar. The door opened revealing the person behind the voice. It was the guy I had ran into earlier. Something didn't seem right. I could feel it. "Hello again," he said with a devious grin plastered on his face. Yep. Something was wrong. A guy that's more than willing to draw his sword on you doesn't come to visit you in the night just to say hi. I had to be prepared for anything.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Uh, yeah I guess. This bed is a lot softer tha…"

"Yeah. I don't care. Just listen and listen good. You shouldn't be comfortable. In fact, you shouldn't even be here. You're not royalty. You're just a peasant, a commoner, a nobody. I didn't even care to remember your name. You should be out there with the rest of the townspeople. I can only imagine the amount of washing it'll take to get your stink off the sheets. And yeah, I saw you with Elsa at that party. I'll give you one word of advice. Stay away from Elsa. I mean it." He turned away and headed back towards the door leaving me speechless.

He opened the door and stopped to say one final thing. "I'm still taking you up on your word that you'll be out of here tomorrow. When I open my eyes and wake up, I expect you out of this castle and back out there where you belong with the rest of the commoners."

"It's funny. Elsa doesn't seem to think I'm a nobody and in the end it's her opinion that matters. Not yours," I said standing from my bed.

Outraged by my remark, he drew his sword and held it up towards me. He'd probably been waiting all night for this moment. "You will not talk to me like that again. I am the Captain of the Guard and _personal_ bodyguard of Elsa." Luna sensing the danger stood and growled quite ferociously. He glanced at her making sure she didn't move. All she was waiting on was for me to give the word. I wouldn't give it. Not now at least.

"Another thing. Everyone else calls her queen or majesty, yet you keep calling her Elsa. Just seemed kinda interesting to me."

The captain of the guard stared at me as if he were staring into my very soul. "You stay away from her, peasant." With that, he placed his sword back into its sheath and stormed out the room. It bothered me how he talked about Elsa. Was he in love with her? Or did he just think I wasn't worth her time? He definitely didn't mind sharing his _opinions_ of me.

"Calm down, Luna. He's gone. I don't think he'll be returning for the night." I climbed back into bed and shut out the light. "Good night Luna. Be ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

As I lay there drifting off to sleep, I couldn't help but think of that _loser_ of the guard. It was crazy but still official. Luna and I had made our first enemy in the country of Arendelle.


	7. Chapter 7

**Elsa POV**

* * *

I sat there in front of my mirror, thoughts racing. As queen of Arendelle, there were so many things I knew I had to do for my country. Between making sure jobs got done or making sure my people were happy and taken care of, or just handling political business with other countries, I had learned to handle the workload and it became as easy as breathing. Today was different though. My mind was being flooded with extra unexpected thoughts and it was making it so much harder to focus. _Get it together Elsa. Focus. Focus. Just stop thinking about…_

A knock on the door followed by a voice broke my train of thought. "Elsa? Are you busy?"

It was Anna. A sudden feel of relief washed over me. I knew if there was anyone that could distract me enough to get my mind off my problems, it was my little sister.

Without any hesitation, I responded. No, come on in."

The door opened and she stepped through. "Hey!" she said with a huge smile.

"Admiring yourself again, I see," she joked.

"Very funny," I said smiling back. "What are you doing still up? Shouldn't you be in bed by now? It's already past twelve."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't sleep for some reason. I've been lying in bed for like the last hour, but apparently I'm just too awake which is weird cause the sky is definitely not awake tonight. Any idea where this storm came from?"

"Um, no. No idea," I said, perhaps a little nervously.

Anna looked at me suspiciously, but continued on the conversation.

"Anyway, I think I just may have some leftover energy from that party earlier which was amazing by the way. Everyone around here definitely needed some time to relax and have a little fun for once…even you," she said as she plopped down into a chair.

I turned to her, looking confused. "What do you mean even me?

"Seriously? Ever since you brought back summer, you've been working almost every day nonstop for the past few months. You rarely have time to rest or do anything."

"I have to. I got to make sure I do everything I can to make sure Arendelle is taken care of properly. I have to fill both mama and papa's shoes."

"I know, I know, but it wouldn't hurt to take a day off every now and then. Like today, for instance. You looked like you really enjoyed yourself today. I don't get a chance to see that a lot Elsa."

Her words left me silent for a second. Had I really been working that much? There was a lot of work to be done when I took back the throne and it did take a while convincing some people I meant no harm when they learned of my powers. Plus, all of the nations that wanted to end their trading deals after my secret broke out didn't help either. It definitely took a lot out of me getting all that back up and running. But even after all the hard work was over, I didn't really stop to rest. I took on every job possible no matter how small. I was desperate to prove that I could be the queen Arendelle deserved. Looking back, maybe I had been overworking myself. It was obviously bothering Anna for a while and I hated whenever I disappointed her.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I was just trying to be the best queen I could be."

"Elsa, you don't have to try. You already are." She smiled at me and it warmed my heart. I was glad I had her as a sister. I wouldn't trade her for the world.

"So, what do you think of Jakob," she asked out of the blue.

I tensed up. I didn't think his name would come up and I wished it hadn't. Not now anyway. The whole point of this conversation was to distract myself and now I had a feeling it was about to go in a direction that was going to undo everything. I had to change the subject and fast.

"Uh, Anna, could we, maybe, not talk about Jakob right now?"

"Why not? He seems to be a pretty nice guy although kinda mysterious a little. And you both seemed to have a good time together. What happened? Didn't you enjoy yourself today?" she asked, looking confused.

"Nothing happened. I mean I did enjoy skating with him earlier. It's just…I…"

I sighed. This was exactly why I wanted to avoid this subject in the first place.

"I just…I can't think right now," I said as I covered my face with my hands.

I could feel Anna's eyes watching me. She was waiting for an explanation I wasn't ready to give. Wasn't sure how to give.

"You like him, don't you?"

My head jerked up, looking back at her. "What? No. Of course not. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's sweet and kind, but as far as me liking him? Of course not."

"So, it doesn't bother you that he's leaving tomorrow morning?" she continued.

"He's not leaving tomorrow. He can't. Not when the storm outside is getting worse."

"Um, I hate to break it to you Elsa, but the storm is actually slowing down. If anything it's already stopped."

"What! That's impossible!" I jumped up and rushed to the window to see that she was right. The storm was gone. There was only a flurry of light snowflakes falling to the ground now.

"You're using your powers so he can't leave, aren't you?"

I turned back to her. "No, I wouldn't…"

I couldn't even finish my sentence. Anna was giving me that look. She knew what I was doing and I couldn't hide it any longer.

"Fine. You caught me. But I didn't know what else to do, Anna. He's so persistent on leaving and I don't know why and to be honest I'm not ready for him to go yet. All I wanted was a chance to talk to him and get to know him a little more. It's not my fault I have a crush on the guy. Besides it's just temporary. A little snow never bothered anyone."

Anna sat there a little speechless for a moment until a little grin formed on her face. It was growing bigger and bigger and I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be freaking me out or not. "Oh, Elsa. You're so adorable when you're crushing. I've never seen that look on you before. It's a weird feeling, isn't it?"

"Yes!" I cried. "How am I supposed to handle running my country when Jakob's in my head all the time?"

"Don't worry. You'll figure it out. I know you will."

Anna stood from her chair and stretched. From the way she rubbed at her eyes, I knew she was getting tired now.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now. I guess when I wake up, the storm will be back?"

"I don't know. Should I just let him go?"

"That's up to you Elsa. But whatever you decide tonight, I'll be right behind you supporting your decision. I'm there for you."

"Thanks Anna."

We exchanged smiles as she stepped out the room.

"Love you little sister," I called out.

"Love you too big sister," she yelled out before disappearing down the hall.

I strolled over to the window and stared at the night sky. I knew he would be gone in just a few hours and I still wouldn't be ready. Was it selfish of me to force him to stay? After all, not even Jakob could tell me why he had to leave. Maybe he just felt like he had to. Maybe he didn't really want to and I was doing him a favor. Or maybe I'm just trying to give myself a good enough reason to justify my actions. I sighed as the snow began to fall heavier and the winds picked up. In just a few second, the storm had picked back up as if it had never left. _Just one more day. Then I'll be ready._


	8. Chapter 8

I wasn't sure why yet, but I could feel that something very strange and interesting was going on in the country of Arendelle. And it wasn't something that just happened. It's been happening since I first decided to go. It had begun the first time I was about to leave. Elsa asked me to stay and so of course I stayed against my better judgment. The second time after I had really stressed on needing to leave, I had woken up to see a very unexpected blizzard going on outside. By the end of that day though it had finally stopped and the clouds were clearing up. I was going to take full advantage of this and was going to leave bright and early tomorrow morning... or so I thought.

I walked down the hall, heading for the kitchen. If I was going to be stuck here a little longer than planned, it wasn't going to be on an empty stomach and I had already skipped breakfast. I glanced out each window I passed and saw the storm continuing to rage on. You could barely tell it was noon. The grey overcast sky shrouded the light and warmth of the sun and blanketed everything beneath them with excessive shade and piles of snow. _Why, oh why, didn't I listen to myself that first day?_

The smell of food soon filled the air and I couldn't take it any longer. I ran down the halls like a madman, salivating and everything until I arrived at the dining room. Once I opened the door and stepped inside, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and out of place as I noticed there were a group of seemingly important people already here and sitting around the humongous table in the center. It also didn't help that I was the only one in the room who was apparently slightly under-dressed for whatever was taking place here. As every eye turned in my direction, I stood there frozen, silently arguing with my inner self on whether or not I should probably get the heck out of here.

"Jakob! " a voice called out. Elsa stood up at the end of the table, flashing her million dollar smile.

"Um, sorry, I didn't know you had something going on. I'll just go," I say backing up towards the door to freedom.

"No, it's alright. Come, sit!" She pulled out a chair near her.

I contemplated on just running out anyway, but decided against it. I slowly continued on over to her, trying to smile at everyone to hide the awkward look on my face and maybe lighten the mood up a little, but I think that just made it worse and more awkward. The room was so quiet that I could have sworn I heard Luna snoring down the hall and to the left where the safety of my room was located. And what could make this even better? Standing right behind Elsa was The Loser of the Guard and he was watching me like a hawk with pure loathing in his eyes. Still only halfway to the chair, I had probably died four times in his head already. That would explain the devious grin that now appeared on his face.

I had forgotten that he was her personal guard. Now that he was back from whatever trip he came from last night, he'd probably be right there with her pretty much everywhere she went. I could barely contain my excitement and my nerves as I reached the chair and sat down beside Elsa. The idea of sitting with my back to this guy was not pleasant at all, but I had no choice.

Elsa wasted no time introducing me to everyone and telling them I was an important guest in the castle. None of them introduced themselves though and to be honest I didn't expect them to. From what I could tell these were people from another country. And not just regular people. These were royal people. I knew this meant I had to be perfect. Best behavior and all that. The food in front of me was so close, yet so far. Eating was probably out of the question as I wasn't really the most, how you say, elegant in the action and I would most likely just embarrass Elsa and myself. Ignoring the hunger pain, I managed to muster up probably the hugest and weirdest smile I've ever done and just rolled with the flow.

As they continued on their conversation, I tried to pay attention and listen to what I had rudely joined in on, but quickly realized I didn't care about any of it. All I could tell was it was something about negotiating trades and equal balancing and all kinds of stuff that I couldn't care to remember. One guy even brought up a deal that was apparently so outrageously horrible that one of Elsa's consultants said they'd reconsider bringing back some Duke of Weaseltown or whoever back before agreeing to it. Elsa quickly tossed both of those ideas out the window as if both were insane.

The conversation lasted at least an hour or two, but the only thing I could concentrate on the whole time was this woman beside me. I would find myself sneaking glances at her sometimes just for a second if she was looking in my direction. When she wasn't looking, I would just watch her, observe her. I know that sounds creepy, but I thought maybe I could figure out why I would defy my sane side after all this time…for her. She was definitely different from any other woman I met, you know, besides the whole being queen of a whole frickin' country thing. Her arm sat there on the table with her head resting in her hand. Her finger twirled around a few strands of her hair and from what I had figured out earlier in this thrilling chat meant she was now bored with whatever everyone else was talking about. She hadn't touched her food at all while everyone else was already on their second or third plates. And she hadn't really spoken up much and was letting her advisors do most of the talking. Every now and then, they would ask if she agreed or not to whatever question they were on and she would answer. If anything she looked as if she was ready to end this already. Probably just as much as I was.

Someone seemed to had read my mind because everyone agreed on something being said all at once and stood up. Were we done? Elsa and I joined them in standing a little late and before I could wipe that stupid smile I'd had plastered over my face all this time, Elsa turned to me. "Let's get out of here, shall we?" she whispered. Her guard motioned to follow, but she waved him off.

Before I could think of a response or take a piece of chicken off the plate to bring, she grabbed my hand and led me out of the dining room. I turned back to look at the group of people still all talking with one another and noticed Elsa's guard was still watching me. Yep, there was no doubt about it. I was going to die tonight.

* * *

We had arrived…somewhere in the castle. I didn't really know where. There were so many rooms in this place, it was unbelievable. Paintings hung up on all the walls filling up almost every open spot. I had even recognized one of Joan. I'd seen a copy a few months ago. I wasn't sure why she had brought me here in such haste, but I had a feeling I would find out soon.

We strolled casually through the room not saying anything to each to other. It was an awkward moment for sure or at least for me. I wasn't entirely sure what to say to her and bringing up the weather was just too corny to consider. Finally she was the one to break the silence. "Jakob? You mind if I ask you a question?"

I began to get a little nervous. I could feel a personal question coming. Hoping it wasn't too bad, I responded. "Uh, yeah, sure. Go ahead."

"It's nothing. I was just wondering…what were you doing up there on the mountain that day?"

It wasn't that bad of a question I guess. One I could easily answer around the actual truth with it still being the truth. "I was basically just passing through. Before Luna and I started, crossing the mountain seemed to be a better idea than going around, but it just ended up being a terribly dreadful idea afterwards."

"I see." Elsa turned away, looking a little down.

I thought for a quick second and was slapped quite hard with the realization of what I had said. It was definitely not the best way to say what I meant. I had made it sound like saving her was not all that great when it was actually the opposite.

"Of course, I'm not saying that everything that happened up there was horrible," I said trying to fix my mistake. "I mean, it was bad at first, but that was before I saw you up there. After that, everything changed."

I had done it again. I was spewing out words that had double meanings and she was picking up all the wrongs ones. She looked up at me, but turned away quickly when she caught me looking back at her. She was trying hard not to blush but was failing in the most adorable way possible. I didn't have a history of making women blush so this was completely new to me. She brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear, attempting to regain her composure.

"So, Jakob, I have another question. And I'll understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm dying to know."

Uh oh.

"Your powers? Where did you get them from?"

This was the question I've been trying to avoid since I first woke up here and now here it was out in the open. Sighing, I start to say something, but stopped. In fact, I even stopped walking. I stood there trying to think of the best way to explain my power of fire. How do you explain it to someone? How do you explain being the only freak in the world? I sat down on the couch up against the wall and began to tell my story.

"Ever since I was a baby, I've always had the power inside me. I don't know how or why or where it came from, but none of the answers mattered cause I was stuck with them. When I grew older and had gained control over it, I was told to never let it show in front of anyone. People wouldn't understand and would get scared. So it was a closely guarded secret that only my…"

I struggled with the next word. I never told anyone about the people of my past because all it did was remind me of what happened. The nightmares were already enough to deal with. I was probably going to regret this, but I continued on.

"…family knew about and it stayed that way for the next few years until—until people eventually found out. It was all over after that. Everything my parents warned me about came true. The townspeople were scared and didn't know what to think or how to react with a boy with abnormal powers in their town. So I was exiled. No one wanted to live near a dangerous freak like me."

I stared down at the floor remembering the events of that day. It was a pretty tough time in my life. Elsa sat next to me, although one could say a little too close.

"You're not a freak, Jakob," she whispered. "Yes I am. You don't know what I've done or the stuff I've been called. I was just a kid when they forced me out of the town I spent ten years growing up in and ever since then I tried to find other people that were like me. For twelve years I tried hoping that maybe, just maybe, I could find someone else that had powers too to prove that I wasn't the only one in the world. Let's just say I got tired of looking. With no one to look up to, I just decided to spend my life alone."

It was hard trying to keep the tears at bay. I didn't intend to give away that much information, but it all just came pouring out. I wasn't sure how Elsa was taking it all and I couldn't stand to risk looking up at her to see. So many emotions ran through me. Sadness, anger, disappointment. All those years of building up a wall to confine my emotions was just torn down in a matter of seconds and I felt shame. This wasn't how I was supposed to be acting. This wasn't the Jakob I had tried so hard to grow up to be. Tough, emotionless, uncaring of what others thought.

"Jakob?" she whispered, as she placed her hand on my arm. "What if I told you…you're not alone?"

A tingling sensation ran up and down my arm instantly catching my full attention. There was a tiny layer of ice along my skin where her hand was touching my arm. My jaw practically dropped to the floor. I looked up at her, amazed and surprised. I couldn't believe this was happening. All this time, I've been living in a castle with a woman who could control ice? Seriously?

"What? How?" I asked. "I was born with my powers too. Like you, I don't know how or why, but I've learned to live with them and most importantly I've learned to enjoy them. It's all I can do."

She pulled her hand away and I found myself already missing her touch.

"I don't know your past and I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but I do know one thing. Despite what people have told you, your powers are amazing and you have nothing to be ashamed of. If you didn't have them, Anna and I could be dead right now."

Her words ran through my mind over and over. It was the first time I got a compliment for my powers and even though I was still feeling pretty terrible, the feeling was not as great as before. It didn't erase the past or stop the memories that came, but maybe meeting Elsa that day was the start of a future I could look forward too. Maybe in time I could learn to enjoy my powers just like she did.

I gazed into her deep icy blue eyes and found myself longing for her. I'd never felt that feeling before. It was strange and new and startling and…I liked it. I leaned in toward her not really sure what I was even doing and she closed the distance. Before I knew it, we had shared our first kissed and you know what? I didn't even regret it. We broke away just long enough to think about what just happened. I had just kissed a queen and she had just kissed a dangerous loner. Yep, didn't see that coming. I wanted to kiss her again, but was interrupted when Gerda popped in.

"Oh, Queen Elsa, there you are," she said, unsure if she had walked in on something. "Anna has been looking for you, my dear."

Elsa flashed the woman a smile. "I'll be right there."

She turned back to me looking a little embarrassed. Maybe she had realized what she had just done, what we had done. It was absolutely crazy. "I...I got to, um, go...now." She was blushing again. She stood up and quickly followed Gerda out the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I let out a huge sigh as I got up myself and headed back to my room. Luna was going to love hearing about this.

I was so lost in my head that I never noticed the door on the other side of the room was slightly ajar. Nor did I hear when it closed…


	9. Chapter 9

**Elsa POV**

* * *

This was so crazy. I was crazy. Yet I couldn't stop smiling and thinking about what I had just done back there. Even as I walked down the hall towards Anna, I was trying my best to focus and clear my head, but every thought somehow led to Jakob which then led to the kiss. I'd never done it before to anyone and didn't expect to do it at all to anyone. Maybe the next life, but certainly not this one. It just wasn't something I gave much thought about. That definitely all changed now.

My mind went back to that moment and before I could change my thoughts, the smile was back and getting bigger. No matter what I did or how much I tried to think about something else, it would still be there shining bright. I could probably light up the whole castle right now. I still couldn't believe I had done it. The weird part I couldn't figure out was how could one simple kiss make me feel like this? All nice and warm inside. I've seen Anna and Kristoff kiss a lot since they got together months ago and didn't even think twice about it. Was this what they felt every time they did it? Every day, every week, every month? It would explain the excessive amount of times they actually did it in a day…not that it ever bothered me much. To be honest I always thought it was cute and I was glad my little sister had found someone she could love and be happy with. I, on the other hand, was content with being alone and happily accepted it until now I guess. I was so stuck in the moment it took me by surprise when a voice spoke up near me.

"You're in a particularly good mood, my queen," a sudden voice said.

I jumped and had to make sure my heart was still in my chest. This voice was so close I could've sworn I felt the breath on my neck when it had spoken. I turned to look at whomever it was and saw it was just Garrett. Of course it was him. Ever since he officially became a defender of Arendelle, he'd always have an interesting habit of sneaking up on me or appearing out of nowhere. He was the only one that could do it so well that I wouldn't even be able to hear him approach. When I asked him about it, all he said was that he picked up the skill when he was still in training. I guess since he was now captain of Arendelle's entire watch force, it was a useful skill to have. Of course it was still a little creepy when he did it to me though, but I'd gotten used to it, well, sometimes. It didn't help that he was also my personal bodyguard either. I didn't even think having one was necessary since I already had my own _special_ way of defending myself. Granted some things did occasionally catch me unprepared, but I was working on that even though none of it would matter anyway. Because it was tradition to have one and I wasn't an exception, my entire staff bothered me constantly about it until I had finally caved. So now here he was.

"Goodness! Give me a heart attack already then," I said holding my hand to my chest. My heart was racing faster than Sven could run, but at least it was slowing back to its regular pace.

"My apologies. I'll try to be more careful next time."

"Don't worry about it." I laughed it off hoping I didn't make him feel bad.

"So, what's on your mind if you don't mind me asking? Something's obviously got you pretty cheerful today."

"Oh nothing," I lied. I wasn't sure if it would be a good thing if people had known about the kiss just yet. And even then I wanted to make sure Anna was the first one I told. "I'm just in a good mood right now that's all."

Garrett kept his gaze on me. He most likely knew I wasn't telling him everything and was searching my face for the answers. I hoped he wouldn't find them. At least not yet. After a few more seconds, he turned away, giving up and moving on.

"You know, I was actually thinking about before and I realized we haven't done anything together for a while now. I kinda miss spending time with you, Elsa. You still remember that time I showed you how to race horseback?"

"Yes I do. I also remember beating you shortly after," I laughed.

A little grin formed on his face, but disappeared very quickly. "What happened? How come we don't spend time together anymore like we used to? We used to have fun."

I was starting to feel a little bad. "I know and I'm sorry. I've just been a little busy lately."

He frowned. "It's because of that guy Joseph, isn't it?" His voice sounded a little agitated and it confused me a little.

"It's Jakob and no, well, yeah I guess."

"Elsa, I'm going to be honest with you here. Something about this guy seems weird to me. He doesn't seem right. I don't know how to explain it, but I don't like him."

His confession was quite shocking. I couldn't understand where all this was coming from. Jakob had been nothing but kind and sweet. Sure he was a little difficult and mysterious at times, but not in a bad way.

"What makes you say that?" I asked now curious about his answer.

"Isn't it a little strange that he was up there the exact same time you and Anna were? The same time you were without any of your guards for protection?"

"What are you saying exactly?"

Garrett stopped walking and turned to me. He was looking me straight into my eyes. "Elsa, I'm saying even after you came back and people started to accept you there's a chance that some people might still think you're dangerous. We don't know what those people told others back in their home countries. For all we know the other kingdoms probably think you're now a threat to them and want to make sure you're taken care of before you have a chance do any harm."

His last words struck me pretty hard. I had never thought about it like that. My own country had surprisingly welcomed me back powers and all, but what if the other kingdoms weren't so kind and understanding? It would be foolish to not believe it could happen, but I couldn't believe Jakob had anything to do with it. But then wouldn't that be foolish as well? _No, stop it Elsa. You just shared your first kiss with him. Don't doubt yourself._

It didn't take long for Garrett to notice how distraught I looked and he lightened up a little. "I apologize if I caused you to be upset. I know you were in good mood before, but I am your personal guard and I am only trying to make sure you are protected from all kinds of dangers. That means from anything or anyone even Jakob."

"I know and I thank you, but I'm fairly confident that Jakob doesn't intend to hurt me or my family or anyone in my kingdom for that matter."

"Perhaps you are right," he said as he began to walk away. After a few feet, he stopped one last time and turned to me again. "Elsa, just promise me you'll be careful of who you trust. I'd hate for anything to happen to you or someone you loved."

"I promise, Garrett. I'll be careful."

He flashed a little smile and then soon disappeared into a room, leaving me there feeling…well I wasn't sure what it was I was feeling, but it didn't feel good. The whole conversation ended up going into a downward spiral and I regretted going into it. I closed my eyes and tried to think of Jakob. Tried to think of his touch, his kiss. That excited feeling was still there, but it was now a little tainted. I had to get to Anna. Maybe if I told her about the experience, she could find a way to cheer me back up.

* * *

"Oh my goodness! Elsa! Your first kiss! This is big." Anna said bouncing up and down. Needless to say she was very, _very_ excited about the news I had given her. Probably more than I originally thought. She was already planning the date of the wedding and thinking of who to invite and even future children for crying out loud. It was madness and I had to stop her before she ended up doing something that got out of control. Anna was crazy and her ideas even crazier, but she was still my sister and I had to love her anyway.

"Breathe, Anna, breathe," I laughed.

Anna had just calmed down from her idea frenzy and was out of breath.

"You ok now?"

"I think so. Sorry, I'm just happy for you. Do you think Jakob could be your true love?"

"I don't know about true love. We did just meet, but I will admit that I do like him a lot. More than I should."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I'm the queen. I feel like I'm not supposed to have time for things like this. Like all my attention should be on running Arendelle, not on some guy."

"Nonsense. If that were true we probably wouldn't be here right now cause mama and papa would have never gotten together. Just because you're queen doesn't mean you can't have feelings for someone."

Anna placed her hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her. "Don't be afraid to like someone Elsa. You can make time for both Arendelle and your personal life. And when you need help, you can always count on your awesome little sister to run the country for a while," she said, causing us both to laugh.

"I would love to see you do it someday. You'd probably be begging me to take back control," I teased.

"Would not! I see you do it all the time and it looks easy enough."

"Trust me. Seeing it be done and actually doing it is two different things Anna. All those times we watched papa do it, we had no idea. I definitely know how it feels now."

"Well, I'm sure I can handle it for at least one day."

I gave her a little smile. "Maybe one day. We'll just wait and see."

We stayed quiet for a second, cherishing our time together. I wished we had more of these moments when we were younger. It would've been so much fun. Oh, here I go again. I promised Anna to forget about what happened, but sometimes I couldn't help it. I had to remember my promise to her. I needed to stop spending time regretting the past and make the most of the present and future.

"So…" she said, breaking the silence and capturing my attention. "On a scale of one to ten, how cute is Jakob?"

"Anna!"

"What? I want to know what you think. Is that so wrong?"

"Maybe. I don't know yet."

"Oh come on. You do know. How cute is he? Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me…" she continued annoyingly. Knowing my sister, she could've gone on for a long time. It was better to just end this now.

"Ugh, Anna. He wouldn't even be on the scale. The scale would actually break," I confessed.

Anna sat there almost speechless – keyword being almost – with the hugest smile plastered on her face. "So he's that cute huh?

I was blushing now and I hated it.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely conversation, but I heard the word cute so that must mean you girls were talking about me." a voice chimed in. It was Kristoff.

"Oh, Kristoff! Guess what?"

I turned to Anna and gave her a look that said _really?_ And Anna being Anna totally ignored it.

"Elsa got her first kiss!" She was bouncing again. This couldn't be good.

Kristoff leaned against the wall, arms folded. "Well, I got to say it's about time. I was wondering if you'd ever experience the magic. It's nice, isn't it."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Now you see why Anna and I do it all the time," he said grinning.

"Okay we are not talking about your constant make out sessions with my sister right now."

"Fine, I guess I'll save the stories for another time. Anyway, Jakob seems alright to me. Although his wolf friend makes me and Sven a little nervous, but other than that they are pretty cool."

"You know what? You should probably spend some time with him, Kristoff. You know some guy time to get to know each other," Anna pointed out.

"I don't know. I mean, I guess it couldn't hurt. I'd definitely have to get over my fear of wolves if I was to do that."

"You can do it, honey. I know you can."

"Ugh. You better be glad I love you."

I had to stop them from going at it with me still here. It was tough, but I succeeded. I looked at my favorite people and was glad I had them in my life. Of course Olaf wasn't here right now, but between him, Anna, and Kristoff, they could always cheer me up. I had almost even forgotten about the conversation I had with Garrett earlier…almost. I wouldn't worry about that now though. I was just happy to be in the presence of friends. And after talking with Anna, maybe I wouldn't feel as bad taking a step back from running Arendelle temporarily to focus on time with Jakob. It couldn't be that bad of an idea.


	10. Chapter 10

After I told Luna about the moment, she was unsure about the whole thing and had doubts, but I wasn't going to listen. Seriously what did she know about stuff like that? She was just a wolf. I mean, she was a rather smart wolf to be honest. One who actually turned out to be right on several occasions, but I was in too deep now to back out or at least at the very start of the deep end. I guess if I ended up being wrong about this she'd at least have another thing to start bragging about being right and me being wrong. That was enough motivation for me to make sure this was the right decision.

It had been almost two weeks now and I was getting a little comfortable with life in the castle. If you'd told me that I would be living here in the kingdom of Arendelle with a gorgeous queen a few years ago, I'd think you were crazy. More so than I was. Thinking of my powers grew less and less the more time I spent with people in the castle. Kristoff, who I thought was avoiding me and Luna, was suddenly talking to me. It was odd at first. We would try to find things we had in common with each other. That led to us being the loners that we were which led to us talking about him finding Sven and me finding Luna. Everything seemed to be going good until it took a relatively dark turn when he mentioned how a past encounter with wolves had resulted in him losing his parents. Needless to say, this made things kind of awkward afterwards seeing as I was friends with one. But Kristoff refused to let that stop him. It took a few days, but we were getting the hang of each other. One could even perhaps call us friends. I would not go deeper into my own past with him though. He didn't need to know. No one needed to know.

Anna and Olaf were a little more difficult getting used to. They always insisted I did something with them. Whether it was warm hugs with Olaf or sliding down the railing of the stairs with Anna, they always had something they wanted me to do and were insistent on me joining them. Ultimately I had learned that turning them down was basically pointless and decided to give up. They refused to take no or not right now or take Luna instead for an answer until I gave them the answer they wanted. It was a little annoying at times, but even they were starting to grow on me.

Luna and Sven obviously had their own issues with each other and rarely got along. They were working on it.

Elsa and I had been getting closer and closer with each passing day. After Anna or Olaf got done with me, Elsa would make sure she'd be there to say enough and pull me to the side and we'd spend the rest of the day doing something together. It didn't matter what it was. I could honestly say she was growing on me the most. More than I could have imagined. I no longer thought about the dangers my powers possessed. I only thought of ending my days with her. Soon we would share our second kiss and then our third and then our fourth. I didn't even have the nightmare the entire week. Things were looking good…or so I thought. The storm had since passed and the snow was beginning to melt. I never did find out what was going on, but I was just glad it was over. The thought of leaving did pop up, but it had been too late. I was hooked on this place, but I couldn't help feeling something was wrong. I had just fell asleep when a dream had decided to stop by tonight.

_I could see them. Off in the distance, I could see them just standing there and I couldn't believe it. They were smiling and laughing and having fun. They were…alive. I struggled with accepting it cause after all how could this be? It just wasn't possible. Tears began to well up in my eyes as a feeling of joy overcame me. I look down at Luna and see she's looking back up at me. She shakes her head, saying no. Of course this puzzles me, but I don't care and waste no extra time thinking about it. I struggle to stand and then I make a run for it. For them._

_"Father! Mother! Brothers and sister! I've missed you all!" I cry out to them as I collapse into their warm, loving arms. Tears continue to flow in streams from my eyes and I confirm that my family is back. They hold me tight not wanting to let go when a howl catches my attention and I remember Luna. I look back to see her. She hasn't moved from her spot. I wave her over to join in the happiness, but she remains there. And she's still shaking her head? I can't figure out why. She isn't usually like this. Luna was always there for me through everything. It leaves me a little heartbroken, but the thought of being in the arms of my family work hard to counter it._

_But then…something changed. I no longer hear the happy voices. In fact, the voices stop completely and I no longer feel them there at all. I turn to look back in front of me and see a familiar house. It's my house…and it's on fire! No! Screams fill the air. I can hear the fire crackling, see it raging like an inferno. They're trapped in there. I struggle to stand. I have to get in there and do something. I got to help them, but I can't move. I can't get up. My family is in trouble and there's nothing I can do. The smoke soon blocks the view and the screams fade away. I fall to my knees no longer crying tears of joy but tears of sorrow. I cry out to them, but no one responds. I had lost my family once again._

_I feel something press against my shoulder. It's Luna. I waste no time and embrace her tightly. She's all I have left now. My tears begin to soak in her fur, but she stays there with me. It doesn't take long though for another voice to rise up out of the smoke. This one is familiar as well, but it's not family. I look up and see Elsa beginning to appear through the smoke. She's just standing there. Anna joins her. Then Kristoff and even Olaf and Sven. Soon everyone I've met in the castle is there with her watching me from the castle. With no warning, flames burst from the walls of the castle. A look of horror takes over my face and I yell in disbelief. The screams are back and the air is filled with terror. Smoke blocks my view again but I can still hear the deafening roar, but there's something else. It's faint. It almost sounds like… barking? It gets louder and louder until…wait a second._

My eyes opened so fast the light from across the room nearly blinded me. Luna stood on the side of the bed barking and whimpering like crazy and it was then I saw it. One of the chairs nearby was on fire. I couldn't begin to explain how terrified I was now. My heart was beating fast and hard as I jumped out of bed, desperately trying to figure out what to do. It wouldn't take long for it to grow and spread if I didn't act. And I couldn't pull back fire.

Luna barked and I noticed her near the large pitcher of water that stood by the fireplace. I leaped into action, grabbing it as quickly as possible and emptying the contents onto the small fire. With the flames now taken care of, there was now just a puff of smoke rising from the burnt cushion. I could finally breathe. I collapsed to the floor scared of what just happened. There was one thing that replayed over and over in my mind. Had I done this?

Luna slowly strolled over to me and whimpered. Once again she was there when I needed her. If it hadn't been for her, I didn't even want to imagine what would have happened. I couldn't understand it though. This dream was different. It was always the burning house that I dreamt of and not being able to save them, but dreaming of my family coming back and being alive before then? That was new. And Elsa? I didn't know why she or any of the others were there. What truly scared me though was the fact that this new dream caused me to use my powers while I slept. It had never happened before as far as I knew and I hoped it wouldn't happen again. There were too many lives at stake and plus I was starting to get used to this place. A quick look outside the window revealed it was still in the middle of the night. Probably just a few hours after I first laid down. Just great! This dream had left me a little rattled and I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anytime soon. Even if I could I wouldn't want to and staying in this room right now was out of the question so I did the only other thing left available to do. I took a walk.

* * *

Everyone in the whole castle was sound asleep except for us unlucky two, but it was nice and peaceful. It was quiet. No maids running around trying to get work done and no singing snowman even though it was crazy to think that a snowman could sleep. There was no bike riding down the halls with Anna or conversations about ice with Kristoff. It was relaxing. It was just the thing I needed to mull over what happened.

"You know Luna, that was a little too close for comfort back there."

Luna grunted letting me know she agreed.

"But I don't know what it all meant. Surely it had to mean something. I go and have the same nightmare over and over and over again for the past ten years. Nothing ever changed about it until now."

Luna let out a groan.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I am just overthinking it. But still, Elsa was there. The entire castle and everyone here was there. My fire killed them. It's a little tough not to overthink it if you ask me."

Luna stayed quiet. This was a first. I guess even though she could never feel what I was going through she could understand a little. She knew how I felt about Elsa and by me telling her that I caused Elsa's death in my dream, she knew it was a lot to take in.

"I know Elsa says I can learn to control my powers and possibly learn to enjoy them, but sometimes I wonder if I'm not the one controlling them in the first place. What if they're controlling me?" I looked at her waiting for the answer I wanted to hear. She grunted and it definitely wasn't the answer I wanted.

"Oh wow. I'm not getting crazier, Luna. I think. I hope not." I stop and look at my hands. A little fireball appeared in the palm of my hands casting a small area of light in this huge ballroom we stood in now.

"I wish I never had these powers. I wish I was normal."

Something caught Luna's attention. Her ears twisted and she sniffed the air. This wasn't good at all. I willed away the fire and checked my surroundings. Something was here and I didn't know what it could be. We were out in the open in the middle of the ballroom. Everything remained as quiet as before. The dead silence was making me more nervous. Luna whimpered. She was looking everywhere but she couldn't focus. Another first and it was freaking me out. "Whoever you are, wherever you are…" I yelled. "Stop being a coward and come out already!"

My voice echoed across the vacant room. "Come on!" I yelled again.

I didn't know who or what was here, but it wasn't responding. A thought occurred to me. Had it seen my fire? So far I've been keeping it a secret. The only ones who knew were Elsa, Anna, and Olaf. Kristoff probably knew about it but I wasn't sure. They were the only ones I'd trust to keep it a secret. I scanned the entire room once more and decided to head back.

"Come on, Luna," I said starting to turn back the way I came. "Let's get ou…"

My side exploded in pain as something had hit hard. I stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, wincing at the pain. Luna was growling, but it soon became muffled. I opened my eyes just in time to see someone dressed in dark clothing grab me and throw me across the room. Whoever this guy was he was tossing me like a fricking ragdoll. I crashed into a shelf and it exploded. Debris landed on top of me and I hurried to clear it off. I had to keep my eyes on this guy. Unless this was some insane new type of way to say hello and how are you, he had every intention of harming me and he was trying his absolute best. The unmistakable sound of a sword being unsheathe filled the room and brought horror upon me. Yep, he definitely intended to kill me. I could hear Luna's muffled growling in another room, but wasn't sure which. It was just me and him now. I noticed a knight's armor nearby and grabbed the sword that hung on its side. I wasn't going to go down without a fight. The pain would have to wait until later. I held up my sword and he held up his. The ultimate stare down was happening now as neither of us wanted to move first. Finally he made the first move. Swinging with all his might, I tried my best to block his blows. I wasn't the best in sword fighting, but I was either going to learn today or probably die trying. I hoped it would be the first. You have no idea how much I hoped.

The sound of metal clanged together repeatedly. He was fast and graceful and I was…managing…barely. Our swords collided once more and held there above our heads. His was angled for the kill, mine was angled to block and survive. We stood close, but I couldn't see his face. He was completely covered in black cloth. Our strength was equally matched. We were getting nowhere. That is until I was kicked again in the stomach. That was another thing. This guy sure loved to use his feet a lot. I fell to the floor and he slowly covered the distance. I rose up my sword, but he knocked it out of my hand. This was it. I was about to die. Maybe it would be better. Maybe I deserved this. I'd never be able to live my past down. Maybe I should just give up and accept my fate. I closed my eyes.

Images began to appear in my head faster than I could ever think of them. I guess this was the whole life flashing before my eyes part I'd heard about sometimes. Only thing is the only images I saw were of Elsa. No family, no Luna, just her. I saw everything we did together. All of our moments. Our first kiss. Then I just saw her. An image of her looking back at me. Her beautiful blue eyes, her long platinum blonde hair in her cute little French braid she always wore, her pale yet soft, smooth looking skin. She had found her way into my life and I knew I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't imagine not seeing her again or hearing her laugh once more. I refused to let this day be my last. I had to fight back. My sword was gone, but I had something else. The power of fire and the will to live.

The man rose his sword up for the final strike. It would not come. Not today. A fireball appeared in my hand catching his attention almost instantly. The smile I had on my face was quite devious and unexpected, but now wasn't the time to think about all that. "Didn't expect that now did you? It's your turn."

I threw a stream of fire in his direction and watched as he jumped out the way almost in the blink of an eye. I got back up and threw fire from both hands. I didn't intend to kill him, but, hey, accidents happen. He was trying everything possible to dodge my attacks. Every time he tried to go through a door, I would block his path. One by one I blocked as he reached them all. I could tell he was getting scared. He was starting to shake. If I could see his eyes, I'd probably see fear. "You picked the wrong guy to try to kill tonight."

"Please! Don't hurt me!" he yelled, leaving me shocked. He hadn't spoken all night. I guess it was different when you were on the other end. I only had one response for him.

"Would that had worked on you?" I asked and he remained quiet. "That's what I thought."

I threw a last stream of fire in his direction and when I say he dodged it, I mean he was so desperate to get out that he ran into a door with so much force, he crashed right through it. The door lay shattered underneath him. Unfortunately for him, it just so happened to be the one he locked Luna behind. Luna continued on growling and chased after him. I ran after them trying to catch up. It was amazing how imminent death could make him run extra fast. I heard a scream down the hall and I smiled. Luna's got him now, but something else happened. Something unexpected. A pained yelp from Luna made my blood run cold and immediately wiped the smile from my face. "Luna!" I yelled.

I ran faster than I ever had and entered the room they had went into. The window was wide open letting in the cold winter air. The assassin had escaped, but not before hurting Luna. She limped over to me, whimpering and my heart broke. There was blood on her right leg. I knelt down beside her and embraced her. He had hurt my Luna. Rage filled me completely, probably more so than I ever thought possible. It was one thing for someone scared of me to not want to have anything to do with me and stay away. I could handle that. It was another for someone to try and take my life and hurt my friend. That I couldn't handle.

I gently carried Luna back to my room and bandaged her wound as best I could. I stared into the fireplace wondering who could hire someone to kill me. I could only think of one person. I stayed awake until Luna had fallen asleep. Only then did I allow myself to fall asleep. I slept by her side on my bed for the rest of the night. I would not leave her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Elsa's POV**

* * *

The light from the rising morning sun peeked through my windows and began to fill the room causing me to wake. My eyes opened little by little gradually taking in all the brightness until my vision had fully accepted it. Taking a look around my room I realized, I felt pretty good today. After another restful night which marked nine days in a row and waking to a beautiful, clear sky, today felt very promising to say the least. I crawled out of bed and paced over to the mirror that hung on the wall. I took a good look at my reflection and managed to smile at the sight. I rarely ever took my hair out of the braid I usually kept it in, but last night after Jakob walked me to my room, he had surprised me by asking to see my hair down for the first time. It was a request I never would have expected to hear and one I would've immediately refused…if it were anyone else. I had hesitated when he asked, but gave in just like I knew I would. After I had managed to untwist the braid and let my hair fully come down, his eyes had grown so big I thought they'd fall out of his head and his jaw was practically on the floor. It made me blush a little. I could confidently say that after my parents passed, there were only two people who had seen me with my hair down, Anna and Gerda. Now Jakob made number three. He finally regained his composure and we said our goodnights. Then I disappointedly watched him head back to his room, leaving me there alone.

I had left it down all night for him and now it was as messy as Anna's horrible bedhead. I giggled at the thought and then brushed it down and put it back into its usual French braid. It was time to get ready for the day and all the queenly duties that awaited me after I left this comfortable, quiet room. Some things were actually quite fun and exciting like meeting the townspeople every now and then. The majority of my work though was the opposite and it was what I was not looking forward to doing nor would I ever, but every day I did everything I could to the best of my abilities with nothing but the future of my country in mind. I hoped I was making mama and papa proud. I slid out of my nightgown and created my favorite ice dress. I was, however, very looking forward to later today when I would meet up with Jakob again. Knowing that our time together was coming with each passing hour made the work I did that much more bearable. One last look at myself and it was decided. I was ready for whatever this day could throw at me. This was true right up until I heard a voice shouting my name from the hall.

I turned to the door just in time to see Garrett bursting through and for a moment was glad I had decided to get dressed two minutes earlier instead of two minutes later. Because he was assigned to protect me, he was closer and had more access to me than any other guard in the country…but his rude sudden intrusion into my room without permission was still disturbing. He'd been crossing a few lines since he became my official protector and it was irritating, but I let it all go for now. I would tell him about it one day, but now I just ignored it and responded. "Yes, Garrett?" I said, a little annoyed.

"Elsa," he said, pausing afterwards. "This is…hard for me to admit but it looks like something slipped by us last night. I don't know how we missed it. We didn't even know what had happened until just a few minutes ago."

I was beginning to worry. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"There's been some kind of attack in one of the ballrooms. Whatever or whoever it was left it badly damaged."

This sudden news was more disturbing than the thought of Garrett seeing me undressed. An attack on the castle? Who would attack us? I remembered what Garrett had told me before about the possibility of another kingdom thinking I was dangerous and becoming a threat. That ultimately led to him telling me to be careful of who I trusted and he was talking about no one but Jakob. He truly believed Jakob was up to something devious. I refused to believe it and still did. After hearing of this news, doubt was trying to settle in and tell me that maybe Garrett was right. Maybe I should've… _No, Elsa. Not now. Not everything you've been through. He wouldn't help attack Arendelle. He wouldn't hurt me or my people…would he?_ I struggled pushing those thoughts away. They would lead me nowhere I wanted to be right now and right now I needed to be in that ballroom assessing the damage.

I turned back to him. "Show me. I want, no, I need to see for myself."

Garrett nodded. "Right this way."

I followed him out of the room and onwards to the scene.

Every step we took left me more and more nervous. I didn't know what I was going to see when we got there and I continued to struggle on dealing with Garrett's advice. This day had started off so great and promising and now it was going downhill faster than I could blink. Once we reached the room, Garrett held the door open and I stepped through. It had hit me pretty hard when I finally saw it. There were scorch marks all over the walls and the floors. One of the doors leading into another room was destroyed and lay in pieces across the floor. There was only one person I knew of that could leave marks like the ones here, but that didn't mean he would purposely go around using his powers on the castle like this. Maybe he didn't do it or maybe there's someone else out there. I shuddered at the thought. Taking all of this in, I didn't know what to think, but I couldn't help but feel that there was something off about all this.

"Was this the only room that was attacked?" I asked, turning to Garrett.

"It appears so. Once I saw this room, I sent other guards throughout the entire castle but none have reported seeing any more damage."

It didn't make since. If someone was trying to attack, why only this room? I had to talk to Jakob. That much was clear. But I couldn't take Garrett with me. He would most likely just cloud my mind and bring doubt back in so I just told him to stay put. From his reaction, I could tell he knew who I was going to see and as expected he tried to convince me from going alone. I wouldn't listen. I left the ballroom before he could say anything else and made my way towards Jakob's room.

* * *

I tapped on the door, but there was no answer. There was nothing but quietness on the other side. I wondered if he was still in there. I grabbed the handle, nervous about the upcoming conversation. I wasn't sure I could handle the chance of being wrong about all this. Twisting the handle, I opened the door and stepped in. "Jakob?"

"Elsa."

His voice was so calm and low I wasn't sure if I had heard it or not. He was there sitting on the edge of his bed softly petting Luna, who was lying up against him. It looked as if he was lost in his own mind dealing with thoughts or emotions of some sorts. I wondered what they could be because he didn't even look up at me as I stood over him. This wasn't like him. Every day for the past two weeks, we'd spent as much time as we possibly could with each other and I had seen nothing but smiles and an upbeat spirit from him the whole time. The Jakob I was looking at now looked like a totally different person. Now he just seemed disheartened. Something was wrong and it made me even more nervous as to what exactly went on last night. That's when I finally noticed something about Luna. I was so focused on Jakob I didn't realize her right leg was in a makeshift bandage. Even more upsetting was the fact that it was stained with blood and not just a little either. A small gasp escaped from me.

"Jakob?" I whispered. "Wh…What happened to Luna?"

"Someone hurt her, Elsa. She was trying to help and protect me."

"From who?"

He looked up at me and I could see both anger and hurt in his face and it killed me to see him going through that.

"I don't know who it was, Elsa. All I know is that they tried to kill me and they'd come so close to doing it too. I know the ballroom is a mess and I'm sorry about that, but If I didn't use my powers, I know I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be dead."

That word…"dead". It struck a nerve when he said it and it scared me enormously. I couldn't imagine losing someone else I cared about. I had lost my parents and almost lost Anna and while I was peacefully sleeping I had almost lost Jakob and I would have never known it. But why would someone try to kill him? How'd this guy even get into the castle?

"He tried to escape after he'd seen the fire so Luna ran off after him, but he cut her right before getting away," he continued. "If he had killed her instead, I wouldn't know what else to do with my life. I'd be completely alone." He ran his hand through her fur gently and I truly understood what she meant to him. My heart went out to him. I sat up against him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Then I kissed him on the cheek. He looked at me and I saw a sliver of the happy Jakob trying to return.

"Jakob, you wouldn't be alone. No matter what, you have me. You both have me." I rubbed my hand over Luna's back and tried to smile for him. Maybe I could raise his spirits. From what he was telling me, they both were lucky to be alive. Even though my ballroom was a mess, I was glad he did everything he could to survive cause after all, the room could always be fixed. Bringing them back from the dead, however, would prove to be a lot more difficult. It was also uplifting to know that Garrett was still wrong about Jakob and I was wrong to doubt. Though it was a little troubling to know someone had found a way into the castle. Who was to say it wouldn't happen again? I'd have to talk to my guards later today about the lack of security. We shared one more kiss right before Jakob's focus left me and went to the doorway. The mood I was trying so hard to lighten up on him vanished before my eyes and the look of rage replaced it. Only one word escaped his lips: "You!"

I turned to see Garrett standing in the doorway. _So much for staying put where I told him._ I'd have to tell him about his listening skills as well. Jakob jumped up and ran over and to my surprise punched Garrett in the face with as much force as he could muster up.

The blow knocked Garrett back a foot or two. "Sonuva…" he cried, doubling over with his hand covering his face. It was so sudden I didn't even see it coming and I didn't know why it had happened. Garrett looked up at Jakob full of rage. I didn't know what was going on between them now, but whatever it was it was getting serious and about to get deadly cause Garrett drew his sword and began to lunge at Jakob.

"No! Stop!" I yelled as I ran over to them. I had to do something or else they would kill each other. Garrett went in for another swipe and Jakob dodged it. I got between them both before one of them could attempt to strike again and created walls of ice to separate them. "Enough!"

"You see! He attacked me for no reason. Jakob is crazy and dangerous and he shouldn't be trusted to stay in the castle! There's no telling what he will do to you or Anna or to any of us! For all we know he could be some spy for a rival country or something."

"None of that's true. I would never hurt anyone, well, I could probably think of one person," Jakob said scowling. "And if anything it's him who can't be trusted. He's been trying to get rid of me since he and I first met. If you ask me I think he's just jealous."

Garrett started to go around the ice wall, but I extended it and he stayed put. "Just stop it, both of you. I don't know what's going on, but it needs to end now." They were staring at each other with murder in their eyes but they finally surrendered for now.

"I can't believe it. You'd trust him over me? Your own _personal _guard?" Garrett asked.

"Well, seeing how my security managed to miss an assassin breaking in, I'll have to say absolutely." This stung him, but he remained quiet.

"Fine. You'll see. One of these days, you'll see I was right about him all along. I only hope it won't be too late by then." He placed his sword back into his sheath and stormed off without another word.

The ice walls dissolved into nothing and I turned to Jakob. "What was that all about?"

"I'm…I'm sorry. I just have a bad feeling about that guy. That's all."

His answer was too quick. I knew there was something more going on than that, but I didn't pressure him about it. Instead, I embraced him tightly and he wrapped his arms around me. I wished we could stay like that, but I knew my queenly duties still needed to get done and I had a meeting to arrange with the entire Arendelle Guardians. This morning was a little more hectic than I hoped, but it looked to be calming down now. Maybe the rest of the day wouldn't be so bad and I could start back looking forward to what the rest of this day could bring. Another kiss between us and I left the room already missing him. All this kissing going on between us was insane. Anymore of it and we might actually be able to compete with Anna and Kristoff…and that's saying a lot. But there was one thing still bothering me. Who would try to kill Jakob and why?


	12. Chapter 12

The day went on and Elsa was trying her best to cheer me up and get some stuff done around the castle all at the same time. First, she found and brought the finest veterinarian in all of Arendelle to the castle to tend to Luna's leg. She wanted to make sure Luna was taken care of to the fullest and that the wound didn't get infected and would heal properly. It touched my heart that she cared enough to do all that for me. I would never stop thanking for her that. She had also arranged a meeting with all of the guards in the castle and brought the recent incident to their attention. Something like this had never happened when her father was king and since it had unfortunately happened with her she wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again. She even recruited more people to act as royal guards just to make sure we had enough protection. But right before any of that happened, she had told me to try my best to relax and cheer up. Take my mind off some things until she got done with her work. That was why I was now here with Kristoff and Sven. We were on one of the mountains that surrounded Arendelle and we were harvesting ice. I wasn't quite sure how I found myself cutting into the frozen heart of the mountain with them, but at least it was keeping me busy and not thinking about Luna…mostly.

"No, no, no. Not like that, Jakob. You got to lean into it and force all your weight onto the saw. Like this."

Kristoff pressed the blade of his saw up against the ice, rose up, and drove it deep into the ice as easily as if he was cutting through butter. Then he began to move in a sort of rhythm slowly cutting the ice into a straight line. "You see. Just like that. You got to be one with the ice. After you achieve that, it's easy."

"One with the ice? I don't think I've mastered that yet and not entirely sure I will. Me and ice kinda don't get along usually. I think it's probably because of the whole having fire powers thing. It is a natural opposite, you know."

Kristoff laugh. "This coming from a person who's dating the ice queen."

"Hey, it's _snow_ queen. Completely different," I said, feeling like a moron but I couldn't let him be right.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Oh shut up," I laughed. "And as far as cutting this ice being easy, I gotta say nope. Just because you make it look easy doesn't mean it is. You've been doing it since you were eight years old. That's a lot of time and experience you have over my half a day experience."

"Just keep practicing, Jakob. You'll get it," he said as softly began singing a tune. Something about being born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining? I ignored it and let out an intentional loud groan. We've been out here for hours cutting ice and hauling it to the sled pretty much nonstop. Was definitely taking a toll yet Kristoff looked as if he could be here all day without breaking a sweat. I guess he was just more used to all this. I glanced at the saw in my hand and gave up. I rose up and forced it down. It stopped only halfway in and wouldn't go down any further nor would it come out. This was going to be a long day.

A few more hours passed by and Kristoff had shown me the entire process of ice harvesting. It was such exhausting work. If I didn't become pro after this or at least semipro, I'd be one unhappy son of a gun. We had cut through the ice, picked it up with some huge chopstick looking tools, split the ice apart, and carried them over to the sled one by one until it was full. All I wanted to do now was fall onto my bed and wake up next week. Instead I just fell into the seat with not just my back aching, but with everything in pain. Kristoff was in front with Sven. He pulled out a carrot from a bag and gave it to Sven, who ate half while Kristoff ate the other half. Then he joined me up on the sled. "You ok?," he asked laughing.

"Oh yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

He let out a laugh. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. When you've done it as many times as I have, you won't even feel it anymore. Besides the pain will be gone in a few hours."

"I'm not sure I want to get used to it."

Kristoff laughed again. Apparently this whole thing was quite funny to him.

"You know, Jakob," he said grabbing the reins. "Even though you didn't enjoy yourself out here, thanks for coming anyway, man. It can get boring doing this all by myself so it was nice to have someone join me for a change and help out."

Suddenly I felt bad. And it was such a sucky feeling to feel. All this time I was feeling miserable and was wishing I could finally go back and rest while all along Kristoff was just glad I had come with him to help.

I managed to smile. "It's no problem. Besides just because I'm in pain now doesn't mean I didn't enjoy myself. Of course, it was a little tough to enjoy it, but it was still enjoyable. Between Anna and Olaf and Elsa taking a lot of my time, it was nice for us to actually do something together for a change. Guy time I guess. Now I can at least say I know how to harvest ice if I ever need to and that I learned from the master."

Kristoff grinned back. "You still got some practice to do before you _really_ know how to harvest it. Like I said, you got to be one with the ice. You got to…"

"Oh, just go already."

With a laugh, Kristoff pulled on the reins, telling Sven to go and soon we were off. Finally.

Kristoff and I were still trekking through the woods on our way back to the town. Even though they liked to travel fast, it was still a long journey so the only thing we could do to occupy ourselves was talk.

"So, how did you get into ice anyway?" I asked. "I mean, it's not something I can see an eight year old taking an interest in."

"Well, to be honest, I wasn't really interested at first. Like any other boy, I usually always pretended to be a knight or something similar, just swinging my sword and pretending to do good for some king or queen one day. The ice harvesting was something my mom and dad did. They started when I was a baby and they enjoyed it a lot. I remember my dad would always tell me how they felt at peace when they were up there. I guess something in me ended up wanting to experience what they were feeling so by the time my eighth birthday came, I surprised them by telling them I wanted to try it out. You should've seen the look on their faces. They took me with them the next day and I've been doing it ever since."

"That's pretty cool. Do you feel the same? That 'at peace' feeling?"

"Yeah, I do. It took a while for me to feel it cause all I felt at first was the exhaustion and pain…pretty much everything you're feeling now."

"You must think you're hilarious don't you?" I said, trying not to scowl.

"I have my moments. But I really do feel at peace while working. Being up here in the quietness surrounded by something my parents loved, it helps me remember them. It helps me deal with them being gone."

I had forgotten that Jakob had lost his parents just like I did. I probably should have seen it coming in the conversation sooner or later and tried to avoid it, but that unfortunately didn't happen. Neither of us said anything. He seemed to be reminiscing right then and I didn't want to be the one that interrupted. I started remembering my own parents when Sven began to slow down, snapping us both out of our memories.

"What's going on, Sven?" Kristoff asked.

Sven looked around trying to focus. "He hears something," said Kristoff.

We all stood still, trying to listen. All we could hear was the whistling of the cool mountain wind and…wait. There was a small rumbling sound. It was very faint, but it was growing louder. Soon we began to feel a vibration though the ground and we knew what was coming.

"Sven, GO!" Kristoff yelled.

The reindeer started running as fast as he could just as an avalanche tore through the trees just a few hundred feet behind us. Needless to say, we were terrified. The sound of snow crashing behind us and getting closer was making my heart race faster and faster. Our chance of outrunning this at all was already going to be slim. With all this extra weight we were carrying in the back now, it was going to be impossible. We raced through the trees hoping to at least stay ahead of it long enough for it to settle, but it showed no signs of slowing. Within seconds it was almost right on our tail.

"We can't beat it with all this weight!" I said, over the roar.

"I know. Try using your powers to melt some of it!" he yelled back.

I turned to look at all the ice. All I could see was all the hours and all the work it took to gather it all. It was all about to be for nothing. It sucked that I had to do it, but doing so at least gave us a better chance at surviving. Plus, assuming we actually lived passed this we could always harvest some more ice. Not that the idea of doing it all again was thrilling, but hey. I set my hand ablaze and threw a small stream of fire at the ice blocks. One by one they all melted and it was working. We were speeding up, but it was too late. The snow was right on our tail now and before we knew it we were in the avalanche. The sled was no longer under us and we were no longer near each other. I was being tossed around like a ragdoll. All I could see was white and just a few occasional glimpses of trees and sky before it was replaced by more white. I could barely hear Kristoff and Sven shouting as all I could hear was the rumbling of the snow and debris rushing across the ground mowing down almost everything in its path. I fought hard to stay above the snow and hoped they knew to do the same. It was the only other way to increase our odds of survival. I didn't want to think about getting stuck underneath it all. The harvest had taken all the regular strength I had. All I was running on now was adrenaline and willpower.

Then something changed. I couldn't tell yet because of the fact I was being tossed around, but there was this weird sensation of no longer going horizontal, but vertical. The snow began to spread out through the air and I could finally see the change in surroundings. It was confirmed. We were definitely falling. Because today couldn't possibly get any worse, the avalanche had accepted that challenge and had tossed us over a cliff. Yep, thanks. Thanks a lot avalanche. We were about a hundred feet up and falling fast. Kristoff and Sven were still yelling and they sounded rather close. I glanced over and saw them both nearby almost in arms reach. I couldn't think of anything or anyway to get us out of this mess we were in and it was upsetting. This was so not the way I planned to go out.

"Jakob!" I heard Kristoff yell. "You see that!" He pointed down towards the ground. There was a frozen lake right below us and I immediately knew what he was thinking. This couldn't work. Even if it could it was definitely a longshot.

"You're crazy! You know that right?" I yelled back.

"Yeah! Crazy about living!"

This was admittedly our last and only chance and right now I would accept any kind of longshot. Falling through the air as gracefully as a rock, I stretched out my arms towards the ground, palms out. Only about 50 feet from the ground, I unleashed a pillar of fire. The flames were huge and shot straight down into the thick layer of ice that covered the lake, leaving a wide open hole. The front end of the snow hit first breaking the surface tension of the water and then us. The shock of the icy water hit us hard and then the realization that we were still alive hit next. We sank deep into the water and had to swim out before the rest of the avalanche came falling on top of us. We all swam towards the top and I melted another hole for us. We rose out of the water gasping for breath. We turned to see the last of the avalanche still falling into the water and for some strange reason…we started laughing. We looked at each other and burst out laughing even more. Sven had already gotten out of the water and was looking at us like we were insane. We weren't insane. Just happy to be alive.

"Well, I'm going to need a new sled…again," Kristoff said struggling to climb out.

"Yeah. And more ice." I said, following him up. "Wait, never mind, ignore me."

"That's what I thought. Was beginning to wonder if it had grew on you." He said grinning hugely.

"No, not yet."

Kristoff looked up at the cliff we fell from. "Listen. When we get back, it would probably be best if we didn't mention any of this to Anna or Elsa. They'd never let us come back up this mountain again _ever_. In fact, none of this even happened. Agreed?"

I laughed knowing he was most likely right. They'd be so worried about us if they knew. "Agreed."

Kristoff pulled a carrot from his pocket and as always, Sven bit half off and he ate the other half. "Come on. Let's get back to town."

* * *

I didn't have much time for rest once we got back inside the castle. Anna and Elsa were there waiting for us to get back. When asked how our day went, we simply said it was fine. They also wondered why we were all soaked, but we cleverly avoided that question by changing the subject quite sneakily. They never suspected anything. Elsa and I spent the rest of the day together just like we planned and had even visited Luna to check on her healing progress. By nightfall, Elsa had decided to take a stroll outside the castle walls and I was in no position to refuse an offer from the snow queen. The sky was awake and she wanted to take advantage of the clear night. So there we were walking along the fjord shoreline holding hands and just taking in the beauty of our surroundings.

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"I've been wondering about something for a while now. It's nothing important or anything, but I was just trying to figure out why me?"

Elsa looked a little puzzled. "What do you mean exactly?"

"I mean out of all the men in Arendelle and especially all the available royal people of other kingdoms that visit all the time, why did you choose me? A regular, unordinary person? I would think someone like you would get together with some strikingly dashing king or something."

"Seriously? Before I met you I was perfectly happy with being alone. I didn't bother trying to find anyone because my duties as queen were more important. But then everything changed when I met you up there on that mountain. I know it sounds weird, but I could see something in your eyes that I never saw before in anyone. Then you fell unconscious and, well, I couldn't talk to you afterwards or anything so I was left a little curious. After you woke up I just wanted to know you a little more. Just to see if I could explain what I saw."

"What did you see?"

She stayed quiet for a second. "I saw a man who would risk his life to save the lives of two strangers and a snowman. I saw a nice, caring, gentle soul inside a man who looked tough and alone and had the rare ability of controlling fire."

I turned to face her and I swear her eyes seemed to glow a bright blue under the light of the full moon. Looking down at her, I was amazed to hear all this. This was her reason she chose me instead of any other more eligible guy. The reason she was so desperate to keep me here those first few days. All so she could get to know the guy inside my tough exterior. Well, she had finally succeeded…mostly. She had torn down my wall and found the vulnerable me and I was glad that she did. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else than here with her. To me there was no other option.

"You know, it was actually two strangers and a family of snowmen at the time. You should've seen my face when I saw Olaf move. I was totally expecting the rest to do the same afterwards."

We laughed. Then music began to play. Elsa had noticed a ship out on the fjord slowly sailing by and it was playing the beautiful melody.

"I remember hearing this when I was just a little girl." She closed her eyes and began to remember. "My mother gave me a little music box for my birthday and it played this song. Anna used to dance to it all the time."

"What about you?"

"Oh, I don't know how to dance," she said looking embarrassed.

This was pretty shocking. "What kind of queen doesn't know how to dance? Surly with all the celebrations that's happened you've must've done it at least once."

"Actually, no. I usually just stood on the sidelines and watched everyone else."

I stayed quiet. A light bulb had blinked on and an idea was going around in my mind. The ship was sailing slowly so I had plenty of time. I turned to face her and grabbed her hands.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as I stood closer to her until there was only an inch of space between us.

"Ms. Elsa, you showed me how to skate, so now I'm going to show you how to dance. Consider it returning the favor." I smiled and she blushed and then we began. I have to admit. She really didn't know how to dance at all, but I was patient just like she was with me. Step by step I moved to the beat and had her follow. It took a while, but she was finally getting it. Her steps matched mine. Our movements were in sync and before she knew it, we were dancing our slow dance together under the beautiful, starry sky. Our gaze remained on each other for what seemed like ages. We wouldn't look anywhere else. We didn't care about anything. As far as we were concerned very little mattered outside of our moment right now. Even after the ship was long gone, we continued.

I walked Elsa back to her room just like I did every night and just like every night I hated this part. I wasn't ready to leave her tonight. I wanted the night to just pause for a few more hours for us, but I could only control fire, not time. We reached her door and she turned to face me. I could tell she wasn't ready either, but neither of us could admit it. Not openly anyway.

"So, today was fun as usual," I said, feeling awkward.

"Yeah."

There wasn't much we could say or do that could make this moment anymore awkward. So, I went ahead and said it first.

"Well, Elsa, I…I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

She nodded.

"Well, good night," I continued. I gave a little wave and began to head off to my room…just like every other time.

"Jakob, wait."

I turned back to her.

"Tonight was incredible and so magical. I don't think I'm ready for it to end yet…without you there. What I'm saying is I was wondering if you wouldn't mind perhaps staying with me tonight or longer? That is of course if you want to."

She seemed uncomfortable speaking the words, but she somehow got them out. A little grin formed and I walked back to her.

"Of course I want to Elsa," I whispered. "But if I'm going to move into your room, there's going to have to be some rules in place."

She smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." We both walked into her room and spent the rest of the night sleeping and dreaming cuddled up against each other. Fire and ice together. Oh wait, I'm sorry. Fire and _snow._


	13. Chapter 13

**This happens the same night as chapter 12. Garrett POV**

* * *

Ever since I was little my father always told me that as long as I put some effort into it, I could get anything I wanted no matter what it was. It all just depended on exactly how badly I wanted it. Well, I listened to it and applied it to everything I did in my life and you know what? It worked and continued to do so throughout my years…until now.

I sat there miserably hanging over my half empty glass just wondering how it had all gone wrong. It just didn't make sense. My plan was to get close to the queen, sweep her off her feet and marry her someday. Thanks to my father stepping down and allowing me to step up as Captain of the Guard, the first part was rather easy. The second part would come in the following months and would prove to be the toughest part yet. Elsa wasn't the least bit interested in seeking a relationship at first, but I wouldn't give up. I always got what I wanted and I wouldn't stop until I got it. Slowly, but surely I was wearing her down with all my romantic gestures. She was opening up to me and I couldn't be more happier. Then all of that changed drastically when HE showed up. Ugh. Jason or Jared, or whatever his name was, was single handedly destroying all the time and work I put into trying to court Elsa and it was pissing me off.

How could a simple, ordinary man win the heart of the queen over a royal guard? And not just any royal guard, but the highest one in Arendelle and closest one to her? I picked up the little glass and stared into the dark-colored liquid. Could it solve my problems? I wasn't sure yet. To be honest, I wasn't even sure what it was, but the bartender apparently felt it was what I needed so this was what I was drinking tonight. So far this was my…_wait_. I thought for a second. _How many have I had?_ I thought quite hard but I could not remember for the life of me nor did I really care, but I did however know that my problem still existed and therefore I needed more. I brought it to my lips and downed the rest in one gulp. Wiping my face, I yelled for another. I tried to clear my mind and focus on whatever I was just thinking about, but the noise in this godforsaken bar was disrupting everything. I turned to all the rest of the people in the room.

"Shut up!" I yelled, but none of them listened. They didn't care. Some of them just glanced at me and kept right on talking and yelling and having fun. They disgusted me and even worse I was out of the castle and here with them. That was only because there was no bar in the castle. No one royal ever drank…at least not in Arendelle. I cursed them all under my breath and yelled again for another glass of the mystery drink. _Where is that guy? Doesn't he see I'm in need?_

"Well, well, well. Look who I found? I'll give you a hint. It's not Waldo," said an all too familiar voice behind me.

I turned around and saw Soren, one of my guards, standing just a few feet away. I rolled my eyes. I should've known he'd come looking for me. I was gone for too long, but I didn't care.

"Garrett, what are you doing here?" he asked, strolling up next to me.

"I'm just…relaxing my mind." My words kinda slurred a little and his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, right. More like killing it," he added, as he pushed my glass away. "You know Guardians are not supposed to be drinking. How many have you had?"

"I don't know. Maybe…four or five or…ten. I don't know. Maybe more."

"Geesh! Are you crazy? No, I know you're crazy. I mean, you know full well you could lose your Guardian position or worse get kicked out of the Guardians all together if Elsa or Anna found out what you've been doing tonight."

"I know, I know. It's just…I'm so angry right now. I can't seem to win."

"What are you talking about? Win what?"

"Elsa's heart!"

"Oh god!" he said, rolling his eyes. "Not again."

"What! She should be with me! Not Jerome!"

"It's Jakob."

"Whatever! Every time I come up with a plan, it always fails. I just can't get rid of this guy. He's like a little gnat that won't stop buzzing around. He actually danced with her tonight. I was watching them. Elsa doesn't even know how to dance, yet they did it."

Soren looked at me with pity in his eyes. "Garrett, you need to realize and accept the fact that Elsa is in love with Jakob. You put in a good effort, but it's time to move on now. Maybe you can find someone else."

"Don't you see? I can't. My father was right when he told me I could get anything I wanted. It's worked for everything when I was growing up and I fail to see how it could suddenly stop now. What I want right now is Elsa. I won't move on and I won't give up until she is mine!" I spat.

Soren sighed. He was finally giving up. Good. It was probably the most supportive thing he's done as a friend recently.

"Garrett. I hope you know what you're doing. I really do," he said as he stood up. "Come on. I think you've had enough to drink for the night. I'll help you get back to the castle so you can get some rest. You need to be back sober by tomorrow before anyone else sees you."

I didn't feel like going. To be honest, I really wanted to stay and get that drink that I had been waiting on a day past forever. That guy was so dead when I sobered up. But something Soren said apparently got through to me cause I found myself getting off of my stool to follow and…falling to the floor right after. My legs…they had betrayed me! Either that or maybe Soren was right. I was too drunk. It definitely explained why the ground was wobbling a lot. But it all left my mind when a pair of hands helped me back up to my feet. I struggled with my steps constantly but Soren continued to help me all the way back to the castle.

Somehow Soren had managed to support half my weight and help me all the way to my room. As soon as I got to my bed, I dropped onto it like a brick. I lay there, eyes closed trying to focus. The room seemed to spin and it was making me sick. I had thrown up twice: once on my way here and once again when I reached the room. I was definitely regretting my decision earlier now. I groaned loudly as I tried to keep my food down this time. No need in wasting the delicious supper I had earlier.

There was a light tapping at my window. I didn't hear it the first time or the second time, but it became a constant noise that quickly became annoying when I finally heard it. Another groan escaped me and I glanced toward the window. _Who the heck could be knocking on my window in the middle of the night?_ Part of me hoped it was Elsa. I smiled at the thought of her visiting me this time of night. _If only._ Of course, the chances were higher of it being the tooth fairy than it being Elsa. My smile disappeared.

I forced myself up and stood as still as possible. The room was still wobbling but not as much as before. Slowly, I made my way over to the window and opened it. The cool, soft breeze of the night blew in and it felt amazing. But it didn't take long to realize that there was no one there. I stood there, looking a little confused. Then the tapping noise happened again. Was I going crazy? It was soon followed by a chirping sound. A quick glance to my right and there was a bird on the railing and it seemed to have a note tied to its leg. Was I expecting something? I didn't know, but it couldn't hurt to find out. I leaned over and untied the message with a little difficulty I admit. Unrolling it, the words seemed to jump around, but I concentrated and eventually read it. It was then I remembered what this piece of paper was. It was what I was waiting for the past few days and what I needed. My trusty informant had done it for me again and did spectacular well this time. Even I had some doubts about it. What I had in my hand was the proof I needed to get rid of Jakob once and for all. Surely this plan had to work. It just had to. I made my way back over to my bed and smiled as I drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow I would tell Elsa. Tomorrow she will finally see.


	14. Chapter 14

My eyes flew open and I was suddenly awake. I lay there completely still trying to convince myself that what I had seen only seconds ago was not real. I was not looking up at the assassion again. I did not see his sword about to come down for the final strike. I did not see my death. It wasn't real. It was just another dream. That's all. Just a dream. I took slow, deep breaths trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. _When would it all just end? Would it ever? Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? Constant nightmares?_

I was getting a little tired of it all and wished I could finally live this new life that so graciously accepted me into it without my old one coming back to remind me how it used to be before. Although this dream was a little different than the ones I was used to, it was still nerve-racking. To think he almost succeeded because I almost gave up on life. I was so incredibly close to death it was unbelievable. Just thinking about it now still made me shudder with fear. I was ready to accept what seemed to be my only choice and had thought maybe it was just fate finally coming to claim me. But then I thankfully found a reason in the nick of time to keep fighting back and that reason was sleeping right here next to me. Or should I say all over me.

Elsa lay there still asleep up against me as close as physically possible it seemed. Her arm was wrapped around torso, her head lay on my chest, and even her leg was halfway propped up over mine. Someone had apparently gotten a little too comfortable during the night. I let out a small chuckle at the sight. Or maybe she just didn't want to let me go. I wasn't going anywhere. I was here to stay for as long as I was wanted and I hoped it would last a lifetime. The decision I made last night to stay with her was a good one and I felt closer to her now than ever. Our relationship was growing faster than I anticipated and it was awesome. A mix of emotions I didn't think I would ever feel again began to flow through me. Happiness, a sense of accomplishment, and even…love? That word was so sudden and unexpected. I know what you're thinking and of course it's been there, but I just never took time to think about it. It'd been so long since I felt loved by someone that it felt strange to say or think it in a sentence that wasn't about Luna. Then there were my feelings for her as well. She had grown so much on me that I could honestly say that I felt that way toward her now. For some reason I just never verbally said the famous three words yet.

I looked down at her sleeping form. She looked so adorable and peaceful. _Should I say it? Or should I wait?_

We'd been together for a while now and obviously things were only looking up for our relationship. Why shouldn't I say it now that it's on my mind?

Elsa began to move bringing my train of thought to a screeching halt. She slowly lifted her head and glanced around the room before noticing that the big hunk of mass she was all over was definitely not the bed. She looked back at me and started to say something, but stopped. I guess she couldn't find the words to explain how she found herself this morning. I just flashed her the hugest smile I could make and followed it with, "Good morning, sunshine."

"Good morning! And sorry," she said turning to get up. But I stopped her.

"It's okay," I laughed. "I don't mind."

Elsa turned back to me and kinda gazed at me as if considering it. She finally gave in and lay back up against me. I wrapped my arm underneath her and brought her close. I knew she would have to leave soon to go do her never-ending work, but I wasn't quite ready for her to leave just yet.

"So did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah. Easily one of my best nights so far. How about you?"

I could've told her about the nightmare I'd had. I could've told her about all of them, but she didn't need my personal problems in her life. All of it would've just made her worry and most likely would've messed up her day. I couldn't do that to her. So, I thought of another perfectly acceptable answer. "It was…pretty good I guess. Better than others." It was the truth at least. Waking up next to her was definitely better than waking up alone even with the nightmares. She easily helped me counter them without even knowing it which made her leaving soon all the more terrible.

"Elsa, do you have to be queen today? Can you, like, take some time off and just be with me for the rest of the day? Arendelle's a good country and I'm sure it can last without you for just one day."

"I wish, but I can't. Not today at least. Someone from one of the eastern kingdoms is going to be coming by very soon to discuss a potential alliance with Arendelle and I have to make sure everything is ready before he arrives."

I frowned a little at the disappointing news.

"But that doesn't mean that it can't happen afterwards. I promise after I meet with this Lord Magnus whenever he comes, I will take a day off for you, no, for us soon. Think you can wait that long?"

I thought for a second. "I don't know. You can be a little irresistible at times. I can't guarantee I won't just come find you."

She gave me a little smile and kissed me. "There. Maybe that'll hold you until then."

She had only made it worse, but I'd have to make it last. I could last a day without her. Probably. I sighed. I really did love her. There was that word again. My thoughts from earlier came back and I remembered what was on my mind before Elsa woke up. It still felt like the right thing to do. My mind was made up. I was officially going to say it. Why not, right?

"Elsa?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

"I just wanted to say I lo…" A knock on the door followed by a familiar voice cut me off before I could finish. Of course it did.

"Elsa, you in there?" Anna called out from the other side.

"Yes, Anna. Come on in."

"Great! Have you seen Jakob?" she asked opening the door. "He's not in his…room." Her eyes fell on us and she stopped.

I gave a little wave. "Hi, there," I said, probably feeling a little of the awkwardness that Anna was feeling now.

"Uh, did I come at a bad time? Cause I can leave and come back later if you want."

Elsa laughed. "It's okay Anna. We're just spending quality time together before we begin our day. That's all."

Anna glared at us very suspicious-like causing Elsa to roll her eyes.

"What? It's true! Tell her, Jakob"

I looked at them both and I knew there was only one thing for me to do. It had to be done. "Anna, Elsa's right. We actually were just spending some quality time together. But I cannot confirm or deny that…we were also just making out a minute ago."

"Jakob!" Elsa yelled as she turned to face me causing us all to laugh.

"I'm sorry! I just had to. You're a little fun to mess with."

"Well, ha-ha, Mister Funny Man." Elsa turned back to her sister. "Anyway, what were you trying to say, Anna?" she asked over her giggling.

"Oh. Yeah. I was actually just looking for Jakob."

"Me?"

"Yeah. I was going to go to the marketplace that's in town and was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming with me by any chance?"

"Um, okay, sure," I said a little surprised by her request. "I'll just meet up with you in a few minutes then."

"Alright then." Anna glared at us once more. "I guess I'll wait those few minutes outside so you guys can finish your make out session."

With a scoff, Elsa rolled her eyes as she threw a pillow at her crazy sister. Anna hurried through the door giggling just as the pillow flew through the air where she had been standing and just like that we were finally alone again.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with my crazy sister."

"She's something else, but you're really lucky to have her," I said

"Oh I know. What about you, funny man? Do you have any siblings back home or wherever you're from?"

The question was so sudden. I didn't expect it to come up in our conversation and before I knew it the burning house flashed through my mind. It was only for a split-second, but it was more than long enough. I pushed it away and ignored the screams until they died down. I didn't know what to say to her. I didn't want to tell her about my family. Doing so could potentially put a halt to our relationship and I wasn't going to let that happen. "Elsa, if you don't mind I'd…I'd rather not talk about them right now."

Elsa looked at me for a second and replied, "Ok." She lay her head back down and neither of us said anything for a while until the silence was broken by her again.

"You know you can tell me anything right? It won't change anything between us. I mean if you really want to."

"Maybe one day."

"Okay," she said disappointed.

It didn't feel right keeping things hidden from her even after all of our time together. Plus, she had told me all about her family, but she knew nothing of mine except Luna. It was necessary for now until I was confident enough to tell her. I figured it would happen one day. I kissed her forehead.

"Hey," I whispered. "When the time comes, I'll tell you about everything. Okay? I'm just not ready yet. Just trust me."

I raised my hand up and it became engulfed in a small, light fire. Elsa raised hers and using her ice magic placed her hand onto mine. The results? Her blue ice magic with my yellow fire mixed together to make a beautiful assortment of colors that engulfed our hands. It was truly amazing to see. Tiny particles of glowing ice broke away from our hands and floated through the air above us and we smiled at the sight. We hadn't always known we could do that, but due to experimentation of our powers, we now knew and were amazed by it. All I could feel was a slight cool touch and she could feel a soft, warm one. This had become our special thing that we did sometimes.

Another knock on the door distracted us and we lowered our hands, our powers fading away into nothing.

"I apologize for disturbing you my queen…" Kai called out from the other side of the door. "…but we have some work to be done before Lord Magnus arrives."

Elsa and I sighed at the same time. Our quality time had finally come to an end for now. We still weren't ready, but everyone else was.

"I guess I'll see you later then," I said, scooting over to the edge of the bed. The moment was good while it lasted. Standing up, I stretched and then headed for the door.

"Jakob, wait."

I turned to see Elsa slide off the bed and walk up to me.

"I wouldn't mind another one to help get me through the day," she said.

"I understand. I can be a little irresistible myself sometimes." I laughed.

"Oh shut up."

I kissed her once more before leaving her room.

Now that I was away from her, it was time to go find Anna.

* * *

Anna and I were out of the castle and were taking a stroll through the town. I hadn't really been out of the gates much since coming to Arendelle. I could probably count on two hands how many times I walked into town the past few weeks and just on one hand how many times I went through town with either Elsa or Anna. Seeing how everyone reacted when they noticed the queen or the princess was in their presence took some getting used to. People would come up just to say hi or they'd offer something from their store for free or sometimes they'd just wanted to talk about life in the town. And because they'd seen me with one of them on a few occasions, they were even treating me like the royalty I wasn't. I wasn't sure if I should tell them or not, but Anna just laughed at it and said just play it off. So that's what I did. I waved, I declined on the free stuff even if I really did want it, and I listened as everyone suddenly began calling me Prince Jakob. Although some argued that I wasn't a prince, but a king or a lord or a duke or whatever. That was an interesting rumor they had going on. If only they knew just how wrong they all were.

Once everyone got their royalty fix, the crowds died down a little. We'd still get a wave and a smile every now and then, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. Since it was quiet now, I looked over at Anna who was just beaming at the sights and everything.

"So, what made you want me to come along?" I asked.

Anna turned to me. "Oh. I had forgotten all about it," she said as her smile began to shrink. "Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't really need to come to the market today. I really just wanted some time alone to talk to you about something."

"Oookay."

"The thing is…and don't freak out on me when I tell you but…I'm pregnant."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. I found out around two weeks ago. I'm around three months in so far."

"Well, that's great!" I said excited, but there was one thing I was wondering about.

"I'm happy for you Anna, but I have this weird feeling that I'm the first to know for some reason."

Anna glanced at me and replied, "That's because you are."

I was a little confused. I didn't think I would've been her first choice for news like this. This was kinda big.

"How come you're telling me first instead of Kristoff or Elsa?"

"Well, to be honest, I was afraid of what they would think. This is big news. The last time I shared news as big as this with Elsa was when I told her about my first engagement with Hans. She freaked out afterwards."

"Wait. Hold on. You were engaged to Hans? Prince Hans? The guy with the sideburns?"

"Yes, that guy. I admit it wasn't my best decision, but that's all behind me now. But I'm just unsure of how my sister will take it when I tell her. I don't know if she'll approve or not. And Kristoff? I don't even know if he wants a baby. This wasn't planned. We just ended up going farther than expected one night and now this is the result."

"I see."

Anna began fiddling with one of her pigtails looking confused and lost. She really didn't know what to do or what the best choice to make was and she was asking me for advice. Unfortunately, I was as good at advice giving as I was at sword fighting and look how that turned out. Of course, one could argue I was still alive though, but they'd be missing the point. I gave it some thought. Then I gave it some more thought. Then I realized the advice I had come up with in my head sucked a lot and I thought some more. I turned to Anna and decided to just wing it. I was good at winging it.

"Anna. Do you believe Kristoff and Elsa truly love you? And I mean that deep down inside love."

"Well, yeah. Kristoff's a lot better than Hans. He's been nothing but understanding and patient with me and my crazy ways like he calls them. And Elsa? She did try to protect me all those years when we were younger. So, yeah, I do believe."

"I do too. I've only been around for a few weeks, but I've seen more than enough love here to last several lifetimes. I've seen how they are with you. They love you with all their heart. You are their world and I believe that no matter what decisions you make in your life, they'll always be there for you."

A huge smile formed on her face and it warmed my heart. I had successfully winged it. She embraced me, and quite tightly I might add, and thanked me.

"No problem. You can even count me in as well, Anna."

"I already have."

With that resolved, Anna and I continued on through the marketplace. We figured since we were here anyway, we might as well look around. Watching her looking at all the items for sale at all the different places was like watching a kid at a candy store. In no time at all, she had managed to buy all kinds of things like the girly girl I knew she was and had come to know and love. And of course, who was conveniently there with her to help carry it all? Yep, that right. Me.

We had almost managed to make it out of the market at last when something else caught her eye. Thankfully it wasn't another store. It was something else. There was a little old woman who was sitting at a table further away from everything else with an illuminated crystal ball on top. A fortune teller? This was going to be interesting.

"Come on, Jakob," she laughed. "I always wanted to do this."

"But..but Anna. We have all this stuff now."

"Oh come on. Let's just try it out. It'll only take a second." Once she ran over, I gave up. I slowly made my way over to her and the old woman. It looked like we were about to get our 'fortunes' told. Some made up fortunes, anyway.

The old woman wore a dark dress and looked kinda rugged and it seemed as if her hair hadn't discovered a brush or comb in ages. She definitely stood out amongst the other people in town.

"Ah. Want to have your fortunes told, do ya now?" the old woman spat.

"Yes please."

Anna was so excited. Even though I didn't believe in this, I had to be a little cheerful for her.

"Well, come on now darling. Sit."

Anna pulled out a chair and sat in front of the old woman.

"Is that crystal ball going to tell you everything about us?" I asked.

The woman looked at me and scowled. "No, son. It's just for show. A real teller don't need a ball."

She looked back at Anna and held her hands. "Since you're so pretty princess, this one will be on the house."

The woman closed her eyes and Anna, not really knowing what to do, did the same.

Not a word was spoken for a minute. All I could hear was the distant chatter of the other townsfolk and the wind whistling by.

"I see Arendelle's expecting a new arrival soon," the old woman said opening her eyes.

Anna gasped.

"Don't worry child. Everything will be alright. You have nothing to fear."

"It worked?" she asked.

"Of course it worked. Who'd you think you were coming to see? A phony?"

Anna smiled and thanked the woman before getting up.

The old woman looked at me. "I suspect you want your fortune told as well, right?"

"No thank you. I was just here for my friend."

"Jakob," Anna whined. "Just try it. Just this once at least…for me?"

I sighed. If there was one thing Anna and Elsa knew that could make me cave, it was their use of the two words 'for me'. It got me every time and before long I was seated in front of the rugged looking woman.

"I guess, I'll make this one on the house as well for your princess friend there."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with."

The woman grabbed my hands and we closed our eyes. The silence was back. We sat there for what felt like minutes and as far as I could tell absolutely nothing was happening. All I could feel was this woman's rough, clammy hands over mine and if I concentrated enough I could probably manage to hear my own heartbeat. This was such a waste of…

I'm not entirely sure what happened or when it happened, but something had definitely happened and I couldn't explain it. The old woman and I were jerked into a vision and were locked into it. _I could see my family. The smiles on their faces before the burning house appeared. I was right there in the middle of it all and it was terrifying. I wanted to get out of this vision. I wanted to stop seeing it. I needed to stop, but I couldn't get out. Then through the mist of all the horror something unexpected happen. Something I never seen before. There standing in front of me were my mother and father. They were there, but not physically. That was all it took and I broke down into tears. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything._

_Tears constantly fell into the soft dirt below creating patches of mud. A hand touched my shoulder and I looked up to see them standing over me. The fire followed by the house and everything else had faded away already. They smiled down at me and whispered two words. I could barely hear them, but it sounded like 'Not you'?_

As suddenly as it came, the vision disappeared just as quick. I jerked away and fell to the ground.

"Jakob!" Anna yelled as she fell to her knees next to me.

I stayed there remaining completely still trying to recover from what I had just seen. I was waiting for reality to set back in.

"Jakob, look at me. Are you alright?"

I glanced at her and nodded still trying to catch my breath.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I..I don't know."

I looked over at the teller and I could see fear in her eyes. It was not comforting.

"What was that?" I asked her.

She remained quiet and just stared at me.

I got up on my feet and brushed myself off and asked again.

Her eyes met mine. "You must be someone special, son. Things like that rarely happen. Throughout my life, it's only happened twice."

I was confused. What did she mean by that? "I don't think I understand what you're talking about."

"You have greater purpose than you realize. I cannot tell you what that is, but you will see…and soon."

Needless to say, Anna and I were officially weirded out to the max. This woman was crazy and all of a sudden it was time to go. I grabbed the bags of stuff Anna bought earlier and began to walk away still eyeing the old woman and Anna followed close behind, but something kept on bothering me. I had to find out something before I left.

"Anna, go on ahead. I'll catch up."

She looked at me and then at the woman. "Are you sure?"

I nodded.

She hesitated, but went on without me. I, on the other hand, headed back to the old woman. "I know you said you can't tell me, but can you at least tell me what just happened between us?"

"You saw your past and I saw your futures."

"Futures?" I asked a little curious.

"Yes. I saw your potential futures. You have three. I cannot tell you which one will come. Only you can decide that, but I can tell you that there's only one with a desirable outcome."

I looked away trying to process all of this information. My brain could only handle so much at once and here she was laying it all out on the table.

"Jakob, everything you think you know is wrong and in order to prepare for the future you want instead of the future you may get, you must go back and see what you missed."

That caught my attention. "Go back? Where?"

"Your past. That is all I can say. You have to figure the rest out without my help."

The woman stood from her seat. "Good luck Jakob. You may need it." That was all she said before she disappeared into her little hut, leaving me there to deal with everything she put on me.

I was speechless and didn't know what to make of it. After much thinking, I finally left that table and headed back towards Anna with not any more of a clue than when I started. There was also one other thing I couldn't stop thinking about. The two words I heard: Not you.


	15. Chapter 15

**Wanted to say thanks to everyone that has added this story to their favorites and/or are following it. And thanks for everyone that has left me reviews so far. This is the most I've ever written and I feel quite proud about it. Lol.**

** Will do my best to finish and make this story more interesting for you guys. I've definitely got some ideas rumbling around so keep on reading. And please leave reviews on how I'm doing with the story so far. They sometimes give me ideas and definitely help motivate me a lot when I feel like procrastinating. :D So, now enjoy!**

* * *

After we left the marketplace, Anna and I were headed back to the castle. Neither one of us brought up what happened with me earlier. Anything and everything having to do with the vision or dream or memory or whatever it was I may have seen was completely avoided much to my relief. I knew she was still curious about it and at one point she almost asked about it, but fortunately she decided against it. I didn't have any answers to her questions much less my own and wasn't sure if I would ever get them. It was all too crazy to think about and part of me didn't want to believe any of it anyway. All I wanted was to get my mind off of the incident so instead we talked about her exciting, new pregnancy. And boy was she excited.

She had so much on her mind that she wanted to get out and I was the only other person who knew about it so far. She had told me that after talking to me and hearing her fortune from that crazy old lady she was kinda thrilled about the idea now. I'd listen to a seemingly endless debate on countless names for both boys and girls and to her talk about how her life was going to change for the better and everything. Then about halfway to our destination the mood took another turn and suddenly she was freaking out and almost hyperventilating. Apparently, she had realized she knew nothing about babies which made all sorts of questions come up. What did they eat? What did they do? Would she be a good mother? What if the baby started crying and she couldn't figure out what was wrong? The amount of questions she had was crazy, but fully expected. I didn't know much about babies myself, but I did help care for my baby sister when I was younger so I knew a thing or two and had promised to lend a hand to her and Kristoff when the time came. It helped calm her down some and before long she was back in her cheery mood and feeling good about her unborn child once again.

Once we reached the castle, we went our separate ways. Since I was now left alone with nothing but my own thoughts to accompany me, it didn't take long for the unwanted ones to slowly slip back in and invade my mind. I had to do something else before they came back full force. Just something long enough until I successfully forgot about them. That was why I was now here visiting my crazy four legged best friend.

"Luna, stop biting at it! You'll ruin all the work the doctor did," I yelled.

She glanced up at me with a certain look as if she was contesting on whether or not she should listen to what I was saying, but after giving it some thought she eventually gave up and whined. She hated this new bandage that was wrapped around her leg. She didn't think it was helping at all and was just being more of a nuisance than anything and I was beginning to wonder if maybe she was right. After stitching the wound up, the veterinarian had offered to use some 'special' medicinal leaves that he had in his possession that could help heal the wound faster unlike a regular bandage. Of course it would cost extra and not just a little extra either. The amount was pretty far out there as apparently the leaves were from some extremely rare plant he'd once found. There was no doubt in my mind he was just trying to find a way to get more money, but he promised us on his future children should he have any that it would work. I wanted to give it more thought as the money he was asking for was more than I had seen in my lifetime, but Elsa had already made up her mind. If these 'special' leaves had any kind of chance of helping Luna heal faster than that's what she was going to get no matter what the cost.

He did, however, warn that there was a teeny, tiny, slight possibility that using the leaves could cause minor itching during the healing process. But once again he gave another one of his promises that the chances were pretty minute and that Luna should be in total comfort these next few days. Well, apparently, we somehow managed to be in the one percent because it was definitely causing some major and not minor itching to the poor wolf. She was already dealing with the pain of the injury itself and now she had this as the rotten cherry on top. I had to remind myself that it would only be for a short while and that it'll be over soon.

"Luna!" I yelled when I noticed her going at it again.

She stopped and gave a little whine again. Her attention was all over her leg and refused to go anywhere else. I sat next to her and ran my hand through her soft fur and even scratched her favorite spot on the back of her neck hoping to maybe bring some kind of comfort to my dear friend.

"I know it hurts, girl, but you got to be tough and let it heal. You want to run again, right? Go hunting with me?"

She nodded.

"Then jaws off the leg. I can't have you accidentally tearing the stitches. That'll just create a whole mess of problems we both don't want."

She let out a soft groan letting me know she understood. She didn't exactly like the idea of ignoring it, but she would try her best. I looked down at her and smiled at the sight. She was enjoying the scratching I was giving her. Her eyes were closed, taking in all the pleasure and if I looked at her from the right angle I could've sworn I saw a little smile forming…if wolves could smile of course. She looked almost in a state of peace. It had even taken her mind off her leg. I had to be honest, I didn't think anything would succeed with that, but I guess I just underestimated the power of the mighty scratch.

Soon my stomach began to rumble and I remembered my bag. "Oh, I almost forgot. I brought us something to eat."

Her head popped up lightning fast just like I expected it would. "It's your favorite."

I reached into my bag and pulled out an even smaller bad filled with some turkey meat that had been chopped into little cubes. It was a little different than what we were used to as we pretty much just ate the meat right off the bone and sometimes gnawed on the bone itself back before coming to Arendelle. Yes, we were animals, but we couldn't help it. We were hungry most of, wait, no pretty much all the time and didn't have time to worry about cutting it up first. It never survived long enough anyway before it was all consumed. Now that we lived in the castle, we had to eat proper which meant the perfectly chopped little cubes we had now.

I grabbed a handful and placed some in front of her. Luna attacked the pile of meat like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She was still technically an animal I guess.

"Geez, Luna! Careful next time," I yelled yanking my hand back.

She just ignored me and kept attacking. I popped a few into my mouth just as the door opened.

"Oh hi, Jakob!"

I turned and saw the mini snowman waddling over from the doorway with his little cloud above him. I never did understand how it stayed above him no matter where he went. But then I would have to think about how he was even alive to begin with again and, well, I didn't want to put my brain through that kind of rigorous thinking again.

"Olaf? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting Luna, of course! I come to visit her all the time," he said, stopping in front of her.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Ever since I heard she got hurt, I made sure to stop by and see her. Some days we can talk for hours and we have the most interesting conversations too. Like just recently, she was telling me the story of how she made you mad this one time when you were a boy and you gave her the biggest silent treatment ever."

I let out a loud gasp hoping and praying that was all he heard and no details were involved. This story was not exactly something I wanted anyone else to know about. It was bad enough Luna was there to witness it. I could almost hear the faint sound of my hopes being shattered as I soon realized it wasn't all he heard because he continued on.

"She told me you'd decided to stay in the rain because you didn't want to go in some cave with her being mad and all and had gotten sick and that caused you to lose control of your powers. Then something about you accidentally setting your whole body on fire and freaking out when you couldn't turn it off," Olaf laughed. "And then by the time you learned how to turn the fire off all of your clothes were gone and you had to wear a bush for pants." His laughter had turned hysterical now and I turned to the devious wolf making sure the huge apparent frown on my face was nice and visible.

"I can't believe you told him, Luna. You promised!" I shouted still in complete disbelief that she actually told him one of my secrets. "You said you wouldn't tell. Did you forget?"

Luna turned and looked everywhere else in the room except for at me. She knew she was guilty and she was so busted.

I let out a loud sigh and gave myself a double facepalm. The last person that needed to hear it was Olaf. I mean, I loved the little guy, but he had tendencies to tell certain things without even giving it a second thought. Now that he knew this story, there was no telling who knew of it. I wondered what else she told him. No, scratch that. I didn't want to know what else she told him…if there was anything else.

He placed his little hand on my arm and I uncovered my face a little to glance at him. "Don't worry, Jakob. Luna told me that it was a secret and not to tell anyone. So, I won't say anything about you being nude in the forest," He giggled.

I rolled my eyes and covered my face back up. It _was _a secret.

"Olaf, you are something else, little dude."

"Hey! Kristoff tells me that too sometimes. Must be some kind of compliment. You kids are always coming up with new stuff."

I laughed a little. At least he had that going for him. He could always make me laugh some kind of way.

"Anyway, I've been thinking lately. All this visiting I've been doing, I think is good for me and Luna. I can feel our relationship growing more and more and honestly, I'd like to think of her as a best friend." Olaf turned to Luna. "Who's my cute, wittle best friend? Who is it? YOU ARE!"

Luna let out a faint growl and I knew I had to stop Olaf. "Um, Olaf. Please don't talk to her like that. Just trust me. You don't want to keep doing that."

Olaf giggled and waved me off. I hoped he would remember my advice.

"So, Jakob. Are you going to the party tonight?" he asked, climbing onto the bed to sit.

"Party? What party?"

"Anna's throwing a celebration tonight, but she hasn't said why though."

I thought about it for a sec. Did she tell them already? If so, she did it a lot faster than I anticipated. I thought she would need more time, but maybe she found some extra courage to go ahead and tell them now. If she did, maybe this was a celebration for the news.

"So, are you going? I just know it's going to be so much fun! You don't want to miss out. Besides… _Elsa's going to be there_," Olaf said in a sing-song kind of way.

"Oh, she is? I mean, that's nice she's taking some more time off." I tried to hide the smile on my face but failed miserably. Just hearing her name tended to do that to me every now and then. "I was still going to go anyway though even if she wasn't there."

Olaf patted me on my arm. "Sure. I believe you." He didn't.

"I was! I gotta go support Anna."

"For what?" he asked looking confused.

I eyed him for a sec waiting to see if something about her pregnancy would come up, but it never did. He must not have known which probably meant Anna hadn't said anything yet like I thought. I couldn't risk saying anything now especially to Olaf until I officially knew she did it first. Maybe the reason for this party wasn't because the news had finally been revealed. Maybe it was because it was going to be revealed tonight.

"Um, never mind, Olaf. Just know I'll definitely be there at that party tonight."

The little snowman cheered at my decision and went quiet afterwards. His eyes searched the room desperately trying to find something else to talk about. He turned to Luna and saw her eating some more turkey cubes I put in front of her.

"Oh, guess what Jakob! I just remembered _another_ story Luna told me about you," he snickered, looking at me kinda funny.

I froze. Surely she didn't…

"Something about you eating some strange, wild berries?"

Oh god.

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**:D if you're reading this charmiaj, just wanted to say thanks. I'll let you know why in the last chapter when the story is finished. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Just checked and apparently this is my longest chapter! Enjoy!**

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I sat there listening to Olaf tell this second story he'd heard and all the little embarrassing moments that happened to me years ago that I thought would be all behind me came rushing back to taunt me. It was bad enough that they happened in the first place. Now here I was being reminded of them all again. After many facepalms and much sighing, I finally decided I'd heard enough. I said my goodbyes to both Olaf and Luna and left the room. Of course, Olaf volunteered to stay behind. I was a little hesitant on leaving them alone with each other for obvious reasons, but the more time I spent thinking about it the more I realized I couldn't really blame the little snowman. He was with one of his new, best buddies and he loved all the time he spent with her. If Luna was making friends like I was I couldn't take that away from her, no matter how many stories she told of me. But still, it was tough to think about it. I could only imagine the conversations they would have with each other and how many more embarrassing stories they would share. It was probably better I wasn't there to find out.

Soon I was back in the castle and I immediately noticed a sense of urgency going on throughout the place. It was quite clear that Olaf had been right about the celebration tonight because every single staff member was rushing back and forth constantly doing all kinds of jobs that needed to be done before the last hour came. The kitchen crew was busy cooking the loads of food that arrived in shipments from the nearby markets and equipping tables with all the plates and cutlery. The maids were making sure that the Great Hall, where the main celebration would be held, and every room around it was cleaned until they were spotless. The rest of the staff were assigned with the duty of hanging up all kinds of decorations in the main room and making sure the place looked as exciting and fun as can be. There was so much work to be done and not much time to waste. For the next six to seven hours, they all worked their hardest and you know what? By the time the gates opened letting the first crowd of people through, they had finished. Everything was done in time and the celebration was now in motion. And needless to say, it was huge.

A small group of musicians constantly filled the air with a wide assortment of music, creating an upbeat, lively atmosphere that could even be heard outside the gates. Tons of blue and pink ribbons hung in arches all around the room from the walls all the way to the center of the ceiling where the large brightly lit chandelier was suspended. And long tables topped with more food than you could imagine lined the walls end to end. All of it looked so amazing. And the food…let's just say I would have my own inner battle going on if I wanted to make sure I kept myself presented in a good and proper manner. Only a handful of people knew how bad I could get when confronted with an abundance of food. It sometimes was not pretty. I could thank Luna for that. But all in all, the staff had really outdone themselves.

People were still coming in from all over Arendelle to join in on this event that Anna so kindly threw tonight. Although no one really knew why she had done it or what this was all for, but they didn't care. They just danced around, ate some delicious food, conversed with new people, and just overall had lots of fun. No one but me knew what this was all for and it was all for only one reason: to lighten the mood as much as possible before breaking the big news to Kristoff and Elsa.

She still wasn't sure how they would take it, but she had already decided that today would be the day she told them and she didn't want to back down. There was some doubt however that was trying its best to settle down in her mind and give her second thoughts. She was trying all she could to stand firm on her decision, but she couldn't do it alone. That was why I was here. As a close friend I was there to be supportive and to try to give her the courage to stay on the plan even though everything in her was screaming no. So far my voice was the loudest and was the one she was listening to at the moment. I hoped it would stay that way.

The time to tell them hadn't come yet so until then I aimlessly wandered around the room trying my best to ignore the sweet nothings the delicious food constantly whispered into my ear. It was calling my name and often times I found myself heading straight for the nearest table. I had to fight. I had to win this battle for the urge to just go over and attack all the food just as Luna did earlier was strong. It was a tiring battle but I eventually lost and was chowing down on everything faster than you could say chicken and potatoes. People would glance at my plate and then at me and then back at my plate in disbelief. Some would just give me a weird look, but I just ignored it. Can't blame a man for having an appetite as big as the party. I was starting on my second plate when a voice spoke behind me.

"Jakob! Pigging out I see, as usual," I hear, followed by a giggle that I knew too well.

I turned around to see Anna standing there in one of her favorite outfits. She was wearing a black bodice with intricate designs sewn into the front and a light-green skirt with brown stripes while a black pendant necklace with Arendelle's symbol on it hung from her neck. One of her ponytails was wrapped into a bun with two small ribbons tied into it while the other was wrapped around her head ending just above her bangs. This was one of the looks she usually reserved for special occasions. Occasions like now for instance and she looked gorgeous. She easily put my plain black and white suit to shame.

"Anna! You look beautiful."

She blushed a little. "Thanks."

"So, besides the food which I can safely assume from your overloaded plate is quite delicious…"

I laughed at the comment as she continued. "…you enjoying the party?"

"Oh yeah. Everything is going great! I'm actually having a good time as you can see," I said motioning to the food once again. "But enough about me. How are you feeling, you know, with everything?"

"Well, to be honest I've been thinking a lot about this party…do you think, maybe, all of this was a good idea for…you know?" she asked, looking as if she was preparing herself for negativity. "I couldn't think of anything else to do. I thought about just pulling them to the side and flat out telling them, but Elsa seemed kinda stressed about preparing the castle before this royal guy came over and Kristoff had just come back from a long, tiring day up in the mountain. I just wanted to make sure I chose the right time to tell them. All of this has gotten me so excited, but at the same time crazy nervous right now. I was actually shaking a little in my room before I came down a minute ago. I just…"

It was clear she was on the verge of another one of her freak out moments and I had to diffuse the situation like the good friend I was.

"Anna, slow down," I interrupted. "Listen to me. I trust you. And I trust that anything you can think of that would help you accomplish what you want to do would be the best decision. You decided to throw a party to help cool things off and get certain people to relax and it looks like it's working. Just relax Anna. Enjoy your party and try not to think about it too much until you're ready. You still got this. I know it. When you are ready, just come find me. You know good and well, I'll be by one of these tables gorging myself like the mad man I am."

I gave her a little smile reassuring her that all was well and she gave one back.

"You know, Jakob, I don't know how you happened to be up there on that mountain, but I'm glad you were. You've been nothing but a good friend to me. I don't have many of those. I mean I have Olaf and Sven and now Luna too. Elsa doesn't really count since she's my sister and well I'm dating Kristoff so he doesn't count either. So it's nice to officially have someone else there for me that I can trust and count on."

"I guess I can say the same as well. It's nice to have someone else I can call friend besides Luna. Someone I can feel comfortable talking to."

We stayed there for a second just absorbing each other's words and without any kind of notice Anna threw her arms around me and hugged me. It was definitely unexpected, but I was glad it happened. We broke away and took one more look at each other.

"I'm…going to go and see if I can find Kristoff. Maybe get him and Elsa ready for the big news," she said.

"Okay."

"I'll catch up with you later…_bushboy."_

My jaw dropped in astonishment and rolled out the door.

Anna giggled her heart out. "Sorry. I went to go check on Luna earlier today and I just had to say something. Bye now!" she said as she ran off.

Luna was _so_ dead.

Three hours later, I found myself simply roaming the floor. I already had four plates with dessert as well and was officially stuffed. The tables would have to wait before they got another visit from me. But even though there was all this fun around, there was nothing else for me to do except for sitting down or just watching the townspeople have their fun. I was here solo. Luna was still healing, Olaf was…somewhere probably still with Luna. Anna had gone off to find Kristoff. And Elsa? Who knew where she was. I hadn't seen her since this morning. I knew she had some work to be done but I thought she would at least come to see what the party was all about. I soon came up on the middle of the room where the majority of the dancing was taking place. The music was nice and fast and everyone was in the moment, spinning their dance partners and hopping around happily to the beat. I took a quick look around the room. I still couldn't see my favorite snow queen anywhere. Suddenly, the temperature of my hand went down and I could feel a thin layer of ice crystals form on my skin as my hand was now in someone else's.

"I was wondering when I would see you again today," I said turning to face her.

"Ended up getting a little behind on what I was doing, but I figured you could handle the wait. Good things come to those who wait anyway, right?" she asked just as the music selection ended and another slower one replaced it.

Noticing the change, I replied, "Mostly, but now that you're here, it was totally worth it," I said, pulling her out onto the dance floor. After last night, it was time to give this another shot. We joined the crowd in their movements and soon found ourselves now in the center of the crowd. Everyone immediately took notice of who was in their presence and gave us or at least her some space. They probably didn't care that much about me, but they cared about their queen and so they all danced in a wide circle around us. Plus, it wasn't everyday they saw their queen joining them in dance either so this was definitely a special moment. Elsa was trying to remember some steps, but she was getting it and I was proud.

"So, Jakob. Do you happen to know why Anna threw this entire event?"

"Um, m_ayyybe_," I teased.

"Maybe huh? So, you do know why, you're just not going to tell me, are you?"

"I'm sorry. I can neither confirm nor deny that I know the information that you seek."

We both spun around twice along with the nice, relaxing beat of the music.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?" she continued.

"Be what?" I asked, twirling her around again. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Okay. So what you're saying is that if I were to give you a little kiss…or several little kisses, you still wouldn't know what I was talking about?"

Elsa looked at me with a little flirtatious look I'd never seen before. It sent my brain on total overload and all thoughts ceased to exist.

"I…I probably would know…a little something about why all this was set up. But…"

I didn't know what was going on. I was caught up in the look she was giving me and the potential kisses she was offering and the soft, flirty way she was speaking. Its effect was incredible and I experienced nothing like it before. I had to think and regain control of my thoughts. This was something new and devious. I wasn't sure what it was, but I had to ignore it all. I had to put off the making out and the longing for her for some other time…or did I? _No, stop it Jakob. You can do this._ I shook off the amazing effects and began to have clear thoughts again.

"Ha-ha. Nice try, Elsa. You almost got me, but I really can't tell you. All of this was for a reason and Anna has to be the one to tell you. Not me. Trust me. It'll mean a lot more once you hear it from her," I said, just as the music came to a close.

She let out a little sigh. "Fine. You win, I guess. This time."

Another more romantic song began to play and people came closer now to us, but still kept some distance out of respect. Elsa and I just stayed silent this time and enjoyed each other's presence. As one, we moved across the floor in sync with the slow melody that played as gracefully as a bird soaring through the air. This moment was definitely worth waiting all day for. Her in my arms and me in hers, holding each other close was all I could ever ask for now. I gazed into her icy blue eyes and found love residing there. We both still hadn't said the words, but we didn't need to. We already knew it and accepted it in our hearts. During a half spin, I break eye contact for a second and look up over the crowd. To my surprise, I see the last person I wanted to see. Garrett. He's standing only forty to fifty feet away just watching us. Our eyes lock onto each other's. The tension between us is so great that I was glad he didn't have powers or else we'd probably blow up the room right now. Elsa and I turned in our dance. I looked back over to where he was standing and saw no one there. He was gone. Frantically, I searched around the room looking for him in the sea of faces, but finding him with the amount of people currently in the room was next to impossible. He never liked me being with Elsa and always tried to make a move on her. Seeing him now, I knew he had to be up to something. And it would be nothing good.

"What are you looking for?" asked Elsa, suddenly noticing how distracted I seemed.

I looked around the room once more before looking back at her. I smiled trying to get back into the moment.

"I…just thought I saw someone."

I twirled her around again and pulled her in close just as the music ended. We gazed deeply into each other as our bodies touched. The urge to kiss her was insanely powerful. I wanted…no I needed to kiss her right now. I leaned in and she followed suit.

"Ah, get a room you crazy lovebirds," teased Kristoff, snapping us out of our daze in the nick of time. _That mood killer._

Elsa and I laughed it off. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked away. She probably felt a little embarrassed. After all, we never really showed affection like that in public. My emotions were still quite strong and it was taking everything in me to not just go and kiss her – and quite passionately I might add - anyway. I had to separate from this woman who made my heart beat twice as fast before something happened.

"I'm just going to, uh, go get something to, uh, drink." I said.

"Okay. I'll just go check on…something."

We took a quick glimpse at each other once more, giving one another a little awkward smile before turning to go our separate ways. Putting more and more distance between us, I took a deep breath trying to calm my fast beating heart and clear my mind. Every second I spent with her, the stronger the effect she had on me got. It was insane, but I couldn't help it. She was like a magnet pulling me to her constantly and I couldn't break away...not that I wanted to anyway. I couldn't possibly imagine it getting any stronger than this, but I had a feeling it could. Pushing through the crowd, I searched for the refreshment table to cool myself off. It was weird though because I couldn't remember it being so hot in here before. Was it just me? Looking around at all the people, none of them seemed to be affected in anyway. They all just continued on with whatever they were doing. Maybe it was just me. That and probably my raging hormones. Whatever it was I had to get it under control. I finally stepped up to the table and grabbed the nearest cup. The cool liquid sent minor shivers through me as I gulped it down. It was working. I filled up the cup again and brought it to my lips. Before I could take another sip, a voice spoke up from behind.

"Well, well, well. We meet again," said the all too familiar voice.

I turned and scowled at the man standing before me with the hugest grin plastered on his face.

"So we have it seems. What do you want, Garrett?"

"Oh nothing. I just saw you earlier and thought I'd come over and see how you were doing on this fine, thrilling night. You enjoying the party?"

"Well, to be honest, I was…until you showed up."

"Well now, that's a shame. I apologize if my presence _annoys _you, I was just…"

"Garrett, cut the act. We're not friends and you're not here to just see how I'm doing. What do you really want?"

He stayed quiet for a second, trying to get his thoughts together. Then his real attitude came out of hiding.

"You already know what I want. But just in case you'd somehow forgotten, I want you gone. Understand? You've been disrupting my plans with Elsa since you arrived and I'm getting tired of it."

"Well, Garrett, I apologize if my presence annoys _you, _but unfortunately I'm going to have to disappoint you yet again. I have no intentions of leaving this castle or this country for that matter and I'm definitely not leaving Elsa. You're just going to have to deal with that fact and realize and recognize that she chose me, not you."

Garrett's expression changed dramatically. His huge, suspicious grin turned to a huge frown. "You listen to me," he said getting into my face. "Elsa was mine before you came in and took her. She was supposed to be with me."

"That's your problem. You keep thinking Elsa is someone you can have or own. You can't do either. She's a person who can make her own decisions on who she wants to be with. Maybe if you learn to accept that interesting fact about people, you'll get lucky and find _someone_ _else_ to be with and love yourself one day. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see if I can resurrect my good night." I pushed passed him, trying to put as much distance as possible between us.

I'd only gotten two feet when he spoke again. "You know, over the past few weeks, I've heard some interesting things about you. Things like how you used to spend so much of your life alone with your pet wolf. Never really socializing much or at all. Didn't really understand it at first, but now I can see why. You had no other choice but to live in isolation seeing how no one wants to live near a crazy and dangerous man like you."

I froze in place, his words leaving me too stunned to move. I didn't know what to think. Did he know? No, he couldn't have known. There's no way. I could count on one hand the amount of people who knew about my secrets and still have fingers left. And I fully trusted them to keep it a secret themselves.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

"Oh, I think you do. I know about your past. I know what happened and why you left. I know…about your family."

My heart felt like it stopped and fell out of my chest when he said those last two words. My family. Somehow he knew and that was not good. I just stared at him and remained silent.

"Fortunately for you, I don't care about any of it. But I wonder how Elsa will take the information if someone was to perhaps tell her. I'm willing to bet you didn't mention anything to her, right? But you're in luck because there's good news. There's a way out. She doesn't have to know and everything will continue as it were…but only if you give up Elsa. I won't even try to talk you out of leaving Arendelle anymore. Just give me her and nothing will get said. Simple as that."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he actually blackmailing me? Offering to keep the information about my family secret in exchange for leaving the love of my life? Would he really stoop that low? Granted I'm still pretty sure he's the one who tried to have me killed which was in my opinion the lowest anyone could go, but I couldn't prove that so it didn't count…yet. This was an entirely different matter, but it was still on the same level. I knew deep down that he most likely would tell if it benefited him in any way, but I couldn't do what he wanted.

"I can't leave her Garrett. I just can't. I love her."

Garrett kept his gaze on me. He didn't say a single word. I could only assume he was trying to figure out what to say to my response.

"I see," he finally let out. "If that's how you truly feel and what you desire, then fine. But…I wonder if that's what she desires," he said, his voice rising. "After all, you have been hiding this fascinating information from her all this time and after she hears about what you've done she may not feel the same way anymore."

By now, his voice had captured the attention of several people around us and more were turning their heads to see what the noise was about. The secret I had tried to keep for so long was being revealed before my eyes.

"Garrett…" I called out.

"No, this is what you wanted. So now you're getting it! It's too late for anything else now."

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**Anna POV**

It had taken a while to find them in this crowd, but with a little help from some of the staff I finally found Kristoff out back laughing and sharing some of his plate with Sven. Then I found Elsa roaming around the room who seemed to be in deep thought about something, but she snapped out of it when I called out her name. Now that I had them both, it was time to break the news. I pulled them to the side and sat them down. My nervous meter was through the roof, but I had to do this now rather than later or risk them finding out eventually for themselves. It would be pretty tough if I was still trying to hide it a few months down the road.

"So, do you guys like the party?" I asked.

"Well, you already know I'm not all for dancing, but everything else is amazing sweetheart," said Kristoff. "Helps keep my mind off the work I did today."

I turned to Elsa to hear her answer, but she was distracted again. "Elsa?"

She turned and met my gaze. "What? Oh yeah. I love it Anna. I love having all the people here and spending time with them. I'm certainly enjoying myself. _Maybe a little too much,"_ she whispered, but still just loud enough for me to hear.

I didn't know what to make of her last statement, but I brushed it off when Kristoff spoke again.

"What's with the celebration anyway? I don't think it's a holiday."

"That's because it isn't. It's for something else. I, um, I actually have something to tell you and it's kinda big."

"What is it?" Elsa asked, looking curious now.

I didn't know how to start. I'd forgotten to go get Jakob before I began. He was going to help me reveal the news. Maybe this was something I had to do solo. I could do this. I let out a sigh as I attempted to find the words to say.

"I've found out about something recently and have been giving it a lot of thought. I was unprepared for it but now I think I'm ready. I want this now and am excited so please, please don't freak out on me. Arendelle is going to be expecting a new arrival in a few months."

They both silently stared at me.

"Wait, what? Who's coming?" Elsa asked.

I gave a little smile, but it disappeared quickly. "What I'm trying to say is that…"

A voice rose above the sound of the crowds and interrupted my own. Something was apparently going on because everyone was looking in a single direction.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" the voice continued. It sounded like Garrett's.

Elsa, Kristoff, and I immediately got up and went to check on the situation. What we found was Jakob and Garrett in the middle of some conversation although Garrett was the only one yelling.

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**Jakob's POV**

Garrett was intent on making himself heard and he was successful. Elsa and Anna had heard the commotion and had come to see what was happening.

Elsa walked over to him. "What's going on now, Garrett?"

"Well, Elsa, it turns out I was right about your friend. He's been hiding something since he got here and I found out what it is. Turns out there are reports of a man shooting fire from his hands and hurting several people near a town in one of the eastern kingdoms. And yes I know about your powers," he said turning to me. "Anyway, your friend seems to match the description the townsfolk gave fairly accurately. They even mentioned and described the wolf."

She looked over at me with curious eyes. This was huge and awful news to her and she didn't want to believe it. She was looking for answers. "Is this true?"

I looked away from her and regretfully agreed.

Garrett smirked, "There's something else in the reports as well. Would you like to tell Elsa what happened to your family? Or should I?"

"Your family? What is he talking about, Jakob?"

This was all happening so fast. I intended to tell Elsa everything about me one day but certainly not now. This was way too soon and unexpected. I wasn't ready for any of it yet, but that didn't matter now. Garrett was taking charge of revealing me and he was doing a fantastic job at it. I didn't know what to say or even how to start. How do you tell the person you love that you killed your own family?

"Wait, hold on. You told me that only your family knew about your secret until other people found out one day. What exactly happened on that day?"

A sigh escaped me as I prepared myself for this story that would soon be out in the open.

"The night before everything happened I had an argument with my parents about using my powers. Things got pretty intense and I was sent to my room. The argument was about being careful with my powers. They worried constantly about it getting out of control one day and wanted to keep my use of them very limited. I was young and rebellious and didn't want to listen but I stayed in my room until I fell asleep. That's when I had a nightmare. I dreamt I was playing with my fire when it got out of my control just like my parents warned it would. When I woke up, I saw that my house was on fire."

A collective gasp sounded across the room and I could already feel the shame, but I continued.

"I panicked and didn't know what to do. I escaped out my window coughing from the smoke. I remember seeing loads of people rushing to put out the fire, but they failed. The fire had grown too big to fight and they all realized it was a lost cause. It was only then I realized my family was not outside with me. They were still inside."

The tears were coming back. I knew I wouldn't be able to control them so I didn't even try.

"I ran for the house. I had to save them somehow. But one of the men nearby grabbed me and told me they were gone. I was devastated. I remember crying out to them and even trying to run again, but the man refused to let me go and I accidentally set his sleeve on fire. He let me go and several people helped put it out. That was when they all found out. Everyone suddenly started believing that I caused the fire that claimed my family's lives. I was chased out of town and was alone ever since."

The room was still and silent. The music, the conversations, everything had stopped and was now focused entirely on me.

"You see. I told you he couldn't be trusted. This man is dangerous and doesn't deserve to be here. He's a danger to everyone in this castle. Who's to say that anyone of us won't wake up to find ourselves in a burning building? Who's to say any of us will have the chance to wake up again at all? He shouldn't be allowed to remain here and most importantly he shouldn't be with you Elsa."

Elsa kept her gaze on me. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.

"I had plans to tell you. I was just too afraid to tell you now."

After a few seconds of hesitation, Elsa walked up to me and embraced me as tight as she could. It was surprising to both me and Garrett. "I finally understand now," she whispered.

"But your majesty…" Garrett began.

"I will hear no more of this Garrett."

"But…"

"I mean it. You have my permission to leave my sister's party for the rest of the night."

He didn't say another word. He just stared at me in anger. He looked defeated and to be honest, it looked pretty good on him. His plan didn't work and had only backfired on him. Instead he bowed before Elsa and stormed away.

My biggest secret was finally out and I still felt the shame. The crowd of people didn't know what to make of the news and were just awaiting the queen's decision on what should happen.

"Jakob, I'm truly sorry about your family. And I'm sorry you had to go through that awful memory again because of him."

"Don't worry about me, Elsa. I'm a tough guy. I can handle it. But thanks for the support."

She smiled at me and before I knew it, we had shared a single kiss in front of all the people of Arendelle.

Elsa and Anna quickly got the party back up and running as if nothing had ever happened. Unfortunately though, the incident had caused both me and Anna to completely forget about the other set of news that was supposed to be revealed.

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**So...tell me what you think. :D Working on the next chapter already.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Elsa POV. Sorry in advance for the short chapter. Tried to make it at least 2000 words but came up just a tad short, I think. Anyway, enjoy!**

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The party went on for another two hours before it finally came to a close and although I never did find out what it was all for to begin with I just chose to let it go and not bother Anna about it. We all had a great time with each other tonight and I didn't need a reason why for that. Goodbyes were said to the people as they left the gates and headed for their own homes and before long the place was completely empty and quiet again. I stood there alone in the spacious ballroom remembering all the laughter and excitement that had gone on and found myself wishing that it didn't have to end. But it was getting late and as always I had important matters to tend to tomorrow morning and I was going to need all the rest I could get.

With all this never-ending work, I was probably going to have to rethink letting Anna take control of the throne…temporarily of course. I mean, seriously how bad could it be if it was just a day? Anna would get her wish and I'd get mine. I wouldn't mind a little time off so I could do whatever I wanted for a whole day like Anna gets to do. I could finally do something crazy like horse racing across the entire town with Olaf or ice harvesting with Kristoff or snowball fighting with the townspeople or could maybe even get a little more bonding time with…

My thoughts went to Jakob and the huge smile I had faded away into nothing. Right before the party ended, he had suddenly disappeared upstairs without a single word being said leaving me to wonder if I should be worried. We had spent most of the evening together laughing, dancing, and goofing off with Anna and Kristoff, but there seemed to be something bothering him the whole time. He was trying his best not to show it and was doing rather well at it to be honest as you would've easily missed the tiny signs he was surely, yet involuntarily giving out. But I knew Jakob well enough by now to know what to look for and considering what happened earlier, I knew he must've been still trying to recover. If he needed time some time alone for a while I wouldn't blame him. I totally understood and would not bother him. Instead I would use this time to finally try and settle something that's been bothering me nonstop ever since it happened. I had pushed this problem away during the party so I could enjoy myself more with the people I loved and now that it was all over it was top priority. There was only one person that most likely had the answers I was looking for and I was on my way to see him now.

I stood at his door trying to prepare myself for the soon-to-be conversation. I had no intentions of seeing or speaking to this man again for the rest of the night, but I needed to if I was to make sense of what was going on under my roof. With a sigh, I rose up my hand and knocked on the door. There was silence for a few seconds followed by rumbling and heavy approaching footsteps.

"I thought I told you to go away! I do not need you anymore!" he yelled as he swung open the door.

I didn't know whom he was expecting, but his mouth hung open once he realized it was me instead.

"Oh…Elsa. I didn't know it was you nor did I expect you to stop by tonight. My apologies, my queen."

"Apology accepted, Garrett. Now to the reason why I'm here. We need to have a talk. You mind if I come in for a minute?"

"No. Not at all." He stepped out of the doorway allowing me to go in.

A quick look around his room revealed he'd been a little busy before I came. There were things lying scattered everywhere leaving me to wonder exactly what he'd been doing up here since I excused him from the party earlier. Somehow I had a feeling I didn't want to know. Garrett stepped over all the obstacles like this was all normal and sat in a nearby chair.

"Would you like to sit?"

He motioned to a chair by me.

"No thanks. I'm fine," I said, noticing a scattered stack of papers already sitting there with something on top that I hoped wasn't food. Or at least used to be. "Besides I'm not going to be here long anyway."

"Fine. Suit yourself. Anyway, I'm going to take a wild guess and say the reason you're here is because of what happened earlier, right?" he asked, staring back at me.

"Actually, yes it is. I want you to know I did not appreciate what you did to Jakob back at that party. It was uncalled for and that was a really horrible experience to bring up and in front of everyone."

"Yes, in hindsight I should have waited to get you alone and inform you then, but what's done is done. I can't change that now."

"Well, that's quite obvious Garrett. But still what would make you do something like that? Announce that kind of information?"

"It's complicated."

"How? How is it complicated?" I asked, the tone of my voice starting to rise.

I didn't really get angry a lot, but I tended to have my moments like now for instance. I had to remember to remain calm because the last thing I wanted to do was lose my temper. Crazy things seemed to happen sometimes when I did and I didn't want to end up accidentally encasing him in a block of ice. I lowered my tone just a little, but continued the assault. "And what do you have against Jakob anyway? You're the only one in the whole castle that has willingly made it known to everyone that you dislike him. Not only that but you've been hounding him for the longest and I still don't know what started it. Did he hurt you in some kind of way?"

"No."

"Insult you?"

"No, Elsa…"

"Threaten you?"

"Elsa, no, please…"

"Then what?! Tell me what did he do to you that was so bad?" I asked, forgetting about my temper-watching.

"I'll tell you what he did! He took you away from me!" he yelled, jumping up from his seat.

A small gasp escaped from me as we both stood there watching each other in silence. His answer was so quick and unexpected and unlike anything I was actually expecting for him to say. I don't think I could've been more shocked by it. I didn't know what to think or say to a response like that and so I was utterly speechless.

Garrett sighed and then broke the silence. "Oh, Elsa. I hate that you had to find out this way, but since it's finally out now it's about time you knew the truth. I'm in love with you. Have been since I first laid eyes on you. And I've been trying to get you to feel the same way about me ever since I joined the Guardians all those months ago. All the romantic things I've done, all the places I took you to, all the things we did together…I did it all to win your heart. I thought you liked it all. Didn't you? Or was I wrong"

I still had no idea what to say to this confession. All this time and he was in love with me? That would explain a lot of stuff that he had done in the past and was still currently doing now. I was in a very interesting situation.

"I…I did. I did like spending time with you Garrett. Everything you did was nice and sometimes helped me relax when I had too much work going on at once, but..."

"Don't you see then," he interrupted. "We'd make such a good couple, you and me. I'd take care of you and help watch over Arendelle. You don't need _him_ when you have me. And besides no matter what you think now, he is still dangerous and I worry every time you're with him. He could hurt you or anyone of us. I'd never do that, Elsa. Just be with me."

My heart broke for him, but I couldn't give him what he wanted. "Garrett. I can't. I just don't believe he's as dangerous as you think. He has control of his powers now. He didn't before. And I don't need anyone to take care of me. I am fairly capable of doing that myself just fine. And about everything else, I'm truly sorry, but I just don't feel that way towards you. You've been a great friend to me since we've met and we've done some fun things together, but my heart is officially taken already. I'm sorry."

Disappointment and hurt began to swell in his eyes. He must have realized it because he turned away from me. I hated having to break his heart and wished I didn't have to do so, but I couldn't forget the reason I was here. Just because he was in love with me didn't excuse him from being inconsiderate, rude and just a plain jerk. I had to make sure this ended.

"And also Garrett. I don't want to see any more of what you've been doing to Jakob. I want it to stop and for all this to be behind us as of right now. Now don't get me wrong, I still enjoy your company and wish to continue to be good friends, but if it happens again I'm going to have no choice but to question whether or not your position as Captain of the Guard can continue."

Still looking away with his head drooping, he calmly said, "I understand, Queen Elsa."

"Okay then. I guess, all is well now." I headed back to the door, but stopped midway. Looking back to him, I hoped to leave some kind last words for him before I left this room tonight. "Good night, Garrett. And please don't be mad, okay?"

I waited for a response. Anything would be good to help me feel better about everything I said to him, but none came. Not one word. I took one more look at him and then left the room. I would not bother him anymore for the rest of the night.

As soon as I got outside the door, a huge sigh of relief left me. This crazy situation was now over and I could breathe again. I was definitely unprepared for what just happened. It was so not what I had in my mind when I came to this room tonight. All of our moments from the past ran through my head now with the knowledge of how he felt about me and I still couldn't believe I missed all the signs. They'd been so obvious. Like really right there in my face, but I was too distracted to notice any of his advances. For a second, I wondered what would have happened if I did notice. Would I have eventually gone for him? How would my life be like now? The thought didn't sit well with me so I pushed it away. I hoped this wouldn't make things weird between us from now on, but somehow I just knew it would. I took another deep breath, pushed every single thought of Garrett out of my mind, and just headed towards the comfort of my bedroom.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hope you guys don't mind, but included a little passionate scene in this chapter. It's nothing too out there though so I hope you guys like it. And tried my best for better detail for you LoveisanopenfridgeXD without having to change the rating so tell me what you think afterwards if you don't mind. :)**

**Jakob POV**

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A nice cool breeze whispered through the air softly caressing my skin and leaving small goose bumps in its wake. The night was still and the only sound that could be heard was the calming waves gently lapping at the shore just outside the castle walls. And if you focused enough you could even hear the faint and occasional sound of seagulls squawking off in the distance, adding their own music to the mix.

The clouds had long drifted away leaving the sky open and allowing the soft glow from the moon and stars to smile down over Arendelle. This was truly a beautiful night which was why I was standing there on Elsa's balcony silent and perfectly still, eyes closed. This was my chance to relax which I so desperately needed right now and I wouldn't be caught up inside missing it for anything.

How long had I been here? Ten minutes? Thirty minutes? An hour? I wasn't entirely sure as I lost track a good amount of time ago, but it didn't really matter. I wasn't here to keep track. I was here to simply do nothing at all. No thoughts, no actions, nada. I just let the serenity this seemingly perfect night had to offer overcome me and quell any anger I had in me. After what happened earlier, I felt it was necessary.

Garrett tried and succeeded in pushing me hard tonight, forcing me to reveal my biggest secret to most, if not all of the people of this beautiful country including Elsa. I hated him for it. Every ounce of me loathed his very being as all he'd ever done was cause me a ton of misery. And he'd done it just to gain Elsa's love. He didn't care what he had to do to get it as long as he had it in the end.

It had taken some time getting rid of those strong emotions, but the more I thought about the events that happened earlier, the more I began to think of what his devious actions resulted in. Throughout all that chaos something good had inadvertently came out of it. Yes Elsa learned of my horrible past and she now knew of the accident I caused all those years ago, but she didn't turn me away like I always feared she would. She didn't point at me or call me names or blame me like all the people of my former hometown did when I was just a boy. It had all unexpectedly turned out for the best. I knew there was no telling how long it probably would have taken me to build up the courage to tell Elsa what I had done myself, but since Garrett took it upon himself to do it for me then I guess I had him to thank for it…not that I would or anything. The irony of it was crazy though.

So, there I stood not feeling anger or sadness, but a little happiness which honestly surprised the heck out of me. I really didn't think I had it in me, but I guess everyone learns something every now and then even if it's something about their own selves. Another cool breeze blew by me and I took in a slow, deep breath before letting it go. There was a sense of peace in my life now that I could feel in the air and I knew there was really nothing else for me to fear anymore now that rejection was no longer endlessly on my mind. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and even Olaf helped make that happen and I would always be thankful for that. I wasn't sure if this meant that the nightmares would disappear or not though. That was an entirely different situation, but I hoped that they would. Surely ten years of constant reminder was enough. Wasn't it? Before my mind could process another thought, the sweetest, softest voice I could never stop hearing spoke from behind.

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**Elsa POV**

"Jakob? Are you okay?"

He opened his eyes and turned to face me. "Yes, I'm good now. I just needed some time alone to do some major thinking. That's all."

"So, you're not upset about…you know?"

"No. I mean I was at first. I was really, really upset, but not anymore. I've come to understand that it was for the best because to tell you the truth Elsa, there's a pretty good chance that if you didn't find out tonight, you probably never would have if left up to me. I don't think I would've ever built up enough courage to tell you about what happened to them no matter how much I wanted to. It was just too painful. So, believe it or not, I say even though he's unaware of it, Garrett actually did something good for me for once."

This was unbelievable. If I didn't hear the words come from him myself I would've never believed that Jakob would ever say something good about Garrett. It felt kinda strange.

"Um, speaking of Garrett. I kinda went to go see him a few minutes ago."

"Why's that?" he asked, looking a little confused.

"Well, I didn't like what he did to you so I wanted to give him a chance to, you know, explain his actions."

"Well, this should be good. What did he say?"

"You won't believe it. It's crazy actually. I didn't even know what to make of it when he told me. We had even gotten into an argument at one point in the conversation and…"

He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. "Elsa, what did he say?"

"He said…" I paused for a second.

I was remembering that exact moment he said the words and the weird feeling I felt when I heard it.

"…he was in love with me. He said he's been in love with me for months and that's why he's been the way he has towards you."

"So, I see he finally told you."

Ok, now I was a little confused. "Wait. You knew?"

"Of course I knew. Trust me on this. He wasn't shy on telling me. He made it very clear to me on several occasions even some at sword point that he deserved to be with you and how you were meant to be with him and how he would help rule the kingdom. All that good stuff."

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that I've already come to the conclusion now that he's a little crazy and if he really believed all that was going to happen then he's probably crazier than I thought."

"He's your guard, your majesty," he reminded me.

"Yeah, for now. I've already told him if he keeps up his crazy antics that it may cost him. I'm pretty sure that got through to him."

"Did I ever tell you how cute you are when you put your royal foot down and give orders? It can be quite attractive. And the best thing about it is when you realize the most powerful person in the whole country is your girlfriend," he said with a grin stretching from one ear to the other.

I turned from his gaze for a second trying to hide the little blush I was sure was showing. Girlfriend. This was the first time he called me that and it sounded pretty good coming from his lips. I gladly accepted the new title. Pushing back a lock of hair, I responded, "It's nothing. I just want to make sure you have a good life here, that's all."

His smile was still there shining bright making me feel as giddy as a little girl. This man had such an effect on me I was beginning to wonder if he really was dangerous to me after all, but in a relatively good way.

"So, Ms. Snow Queen, what did you say to him when he confessed his own secret?" he asked.

"I just told him the truth."

"Which is?"

"I…told him that my heart was already taken."

"Oh really! No doubt by some suave, totally gorgeous man with the perfect smile, and the perfect hair, and all the right moves."

"No sir, you have it all wrong," I replied. "You see, my heart was taken by a man who came off as mysterious and who I've constantly heard is way too dangerous for me. Because of that he has no business being in the castle and should be put out immediately. Of course, this dangerous man also just so happens to be totally gorgeous, so I guess you were right about that. Although his eating habits could use some improvement." I teased.

"It's a work in progress," he laughed, as he pulled me to him.

His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me as close as physically possible. Warmth seemed to radiate off of him and I couldn't tell if that was just his power of fire or from the natural warmth of him just being alive. Either way I didn't want him to let go because I was on cloud nine. This level of closeness with him. The way our bodies were pressed against each other sent shivers throughout my entire frame and I loved it even though it felt wrong to admit for some reason. I found myself wanting more and more of it lately whenever I saw or thought of him. But every time it came up, I tried my best not to dwell on _certain _thoughts for too long and would push them away. This moment however was making that very hard to do right now.

"Ms. Snow Queen, you are absolutely the most wonderful woman I've ever met. I don't know where I'd be or what I'd be up to without you," he said, taking my hand and his and flashing me the brightest smile I'd ever seen. Then with a whisper he said, "You have my heart too."

He brought my hand to his lips, giving it a single kiss that felt as light as a feather. Then using the other he caressed my face as he stared deeply into my eyes. His touch was so comforting and amazing I felt as if I could just melt right then and there. And his gaze was just as powerful because if I wasn't careful I'd get lost in those dreamy eyes of his and would mostly likely never return. It all just left me wanting so much more of this, of him. He leaned into me and I to him until finally the moment came. Our lips gently pressed together fueling a fire that burned within us and before we knew it, this kiss had become the most intense and passionate kiss we'd ever shared. And it only continued.

Things were beginning to escalate faster than I could blink and soon we were in bed kissing, touching, and doing things that just felt so right and natural, but at the same time it scared me a little inside. Even though I'd already had thoughts and admittedly even dreams about this potential beautiful act with Jakob before, I don't think I fully thought about or expected to do it outside the dreams. It was on such a higher level of intimacy than I was used to and now it was happening at this very second. Was I prepared for this as much as I thought I was? Probably not, but Jakob took things nice and slow and was gentle with me every step of the way. And because of that the scared, nervous part of me disappeared more and more until finally it was gone completely and I could enjoy this moment between us to the fullest. And boy was it exciting!

After our intense magical moment had calmed down for the night, I fell asleep by the most incredible man I could hope to meet in my life. He was perfect for me and I knew that no matter what happened this was the person I felt the most happiest with and I was without a doubt sure he felt the same way.

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**Was thinking about the next chapter while at work and I got some interesting ideas for it, so stay tuned. Will try to have it up as quick as I can. :)**


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